Dt Kidby has never shied away om dog thgs first. Now the Saskatchewan lead is helpg rve out a path to greater cln as an openly gay curler at the Brier.
Contents:
- MATCHUP OF TWO OPENLY GAY SKIPS AT BRIER A W FOR CLIVY SPORTS
- GAY CURLER OUT PUBLICLY THE MIDDLE OF NATNAL CHAMPNSHIP N
- OPENLY GAY CURLER JOHN EPPG WS BRONZE MEDAL AT CANADIAN CHAMPNSHIPS
- OUT AT THE BRIER: GAY CURLER FULFILS CHILDHOOD DREAM
MATCHUP OF TWO OPENLY GAY SKIPS AT BRIER A W FOR CLIVY SPORTS
He publicly me out as gay 2012, and says he was embraced around the sport. But as the only openly gay star male athlete major North Amerin sports, he feels a rponsibily to talk about his sexualy — and hop his example will empower others. In major North Amerin sports — and certaly Canada, curlg is among them — Eppg stands alone as an openly gay, star male athlete.
No player NHL history has ever e out; Jason Colls did jt before he played his fal NBA season 2013–14; a uple MLB players have e out after their reers end; and NFL draft pick Michael Sam announced he was gay after his llege football reer was over. Coll Mart played three MLS gam last season after g out 2018, five years after fellow pro soccer player Robbie Rogers beme the first openly gay man to pete a top North Amerin sports league. Few have followed Rogers’s footsteps: Openly gay male role mols major sports are fewer than few-and-far-between.
Bee then why are we aaid to be gay?
GAY CURLER OUT PUBLICLY THE MIDDLE OF NATNAL CHAMPNSHIP N
“I was never told, ‘You nnot be gay’ — nobody’s ever said that. But ’s jt not somethg we brought up, that you n be gay. Eppg kept his feelgs to himself — he scrib the realizatn as “a very slow procs” — and a uple years later he told a close iend that he was gay.
Only one of his high-school iends was upset at the news, and not bee he was gay. His mom’s was that he’d cut ti wh his fay — she’d had a iend growg up who was gay, and he’d moved to Toronto, and she never heard om him aga.
Eppg’s grandmother, Irene, who died earlier this year at age 92, didn’t need to be told her grandson was gay. “Bee he’d been openly gay the curlg muny for a few years, he’d been a great mentor to a lot of athlet already, ” March says. I don’t need to tell people I’m gay — I don’t.
OPENLY GAY CURLER JOHN EPPG WS BRONZE MEDAL AT CANADIAN CHAMPNSHIPS
The day he revealed publicly that he was gay, Eppg’s Instagram and Facebook msag piled up. Recently, through a curlg fundraisg lendar, he helped raise $11, 000 for the Lbian Gay Bi Trans Youth Le, a Toronto-based anizatn that mak available same-aged kids to chat wh their peers about any stggl they may be havg as relat to their sexualy. Eppg is hopeful the sportg world will see more gay athlet open up and be role mols the near future.
Canadian curler Dt Kidby has taken the opportuny of his petn the Brier — Canada’s curlg natnal champnship — to talk to the media for the first time about beg gay the sport he lov, an terview wh CBC Sports. Last month he even peted the Canadian Gay Curlg Champnship Montreal.
OUT AT THE BRIER: GAY CURLER FULFILS CHILDHOOD DREAM
So while this is the first time he’s talked to the media about beg gay, he’s talked to people the sport about plenty. John Eppg, a curler who me out publicly as gay last year, had an imprsive n the Tim Hortons Brier Canadian curlg champnships, fishg the semifals and wng a bronze medal.
Eppg has been out to his fay, iends and the curlg muny for about five years and discsed beg gay publicly last year. TORONTO — It has been over five years sce curler John Eppg told fay, iends, and peers his sport’s muny that he was gay. Eppg knew there was growg tert his story about beg a gay athlete a men’s team sport, but held off on sharg the news more wily as he didn’t want to be a distractn for his team.
But I jt look at like, I haven’t thought about gog around broadstg that I’m a gay person curlg.