NZ Falns RFC - Internatnal Gay Rugby

Contents:

• DAN PALMER PRAISED AFTER BEG FIRST WALLABI PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY
• DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI
• FORMER WALLABI PROP BE FIRST ATRALIAN GBY TERNATNAL TO E OUT AS GAY
• GAY RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER SAYS HE'S SEEN MUCH 'GAYER' THGS IN SPORTS CHANGG ROOMS
• RUGBY ATRALIA STRIK ALLIANCE WH ATRALIA'S GAY AND CLIVE RUGBY CLUBS
• 'MY OWN ATH FELT PREFERABLE TO ANYBODY DISVERG': FORMER WALLABY DAN PALMER OUT AS GAY POWERFUL LUMN
• 10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT
• HUGE SUPPORT FOR FORMER WALLABI PLAYER WHO HAS E OUT AS GAY
• JOG THE WORLD'S FIRST GAY GBY TEAM CHANGED MY LIFE. SO I MA A FILM ABOUT
• DAN PALMER, FORMER PRO GBY PLAYER, OUT AS GAY TEAR-JERKER OP-ED
• LESTER’S NICK MCCARTHY OUT AS GAY AND THANKS CLUB FOR THEIR SUPPORT
• HEARD OF THE STEELERS? NO, NOT THEM, THE GAY GBY TEAM OM LONDON
• INTRODUCG THE ALAI UNIVERSY SHARKS, SOUTH ATRALIA’S FIRST GAY AND CLIVE GBY TEAM
• FORMER WALLABY DAN PALMER 'HUMBLED' BY SUPPORT AFTER G OUT AS GAY
• ‘MY OWN ATH FELT PREFERABLE TO ANYBODY DISVERG I WAS GAY,’ SAYS FORMER GBY PLAYER DAN PALMER

DAN PALMER PRAISED AFTER BEG FIRST WALLABI PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY

Palmer tailed the mental health issu and dg problems he experienced when g to terms wh his sexualy, although he said he never felt discrimated agast durg his playg the long-nng Israel Fol saga, which rulted the wger’s sackg by Rugby Atralia after he posted on social media that “hell awas” gay people, was a ntributg factor his cisn to wre the lumn. Many others have done so the women’s game, to far ls Denison, a rearcher wh Monash Universy’s School of Social Scienc who has nducted studi examg homophobia and homophobic behavur gby, said the siari between the stori of Palmer and Thomas highlighted the lack of progrs on the issue sport environments.

DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI

“There has been a dramatic improvement public attus towards gay people general society, but we haven’t seen the same chang sport where the nstant e of homophobic language creat a culture where gay people feel unwele, ” Denison said.

“I’m hopeful that people wh the gby muny will regnise the siary between the stori and unrstand the urgent need to addrs the culture that mak gay people feel unwele and that they have to hi their sexualy to be accepted gby. ”Much progrs has been ma by gby unn recent years, cludg a formal agreement ma between Rugby Atralia and LGBTQ+ and clive teams to fight wh no openly gay active male players, Michael Smh of Internatnal Gay Rugby said there was far more work to be done to create sportg environments which men felt fortable to be themselv.

In light of recent ntroversy regardg homophobic slurs by Israel Fol, we thought we would she a light on 10 fluential gay gby personali. In this article, we’ll name ten of the most notable gay gby personali, analyze their acplishments, discs how they are shapg the game today, and asss their impact on the overall perceptn of homosexual profsnal athlet around the world.

FORMER WALLABI PROP BE FIRST ATRALIAN GBY TERNATNAL TO E OUT AS GAY

That beg said, due to s physily, gby is regard as a “manly” sport, which mak more difficult for gay players to publicly acknowledge their preference. This is one of the ma reasons why reprentativ of World Rugby met wh the lears of Internatnal Gay Rugby (IGR) to help eradite homophobia and tolerance om the game. Even though Ian Roberts may have been the first high-profile player to openly adm beg gay, Keegan Hirst was the first to ever do while still active.

Currently a Wakefield Try prop, Hirst has bee one of the most notable gay athlet, earng himself a startg role after signg a ntract wh the League si 2016. Although he never played gby at a profsnal level, Mark Bgham has bee an inic figure for gay gby players and sportspeople around the world. Known for his heroics durg the September 11 attacks, Bgham was a robt send-row man who played for the gay-clive San Francis Fog RFC.

The Mark Kendall Bgham Memorial Tournament, simply known as the Bgham Cup, is a biennial gay gby unn tournament which was held for the first time 2002. Thomas publicly me out 2009 and has sce scribed his experience as a secretly gay player, revealg how the social prsure and stereotyp pose a signifint challenge for many athlet today. The Welshman is also a TV personaly and a voted activist for the LGBT e, wng “Gay Sports Personaly of the De” at the Stonewall awards ceremony London back 2015.

GAY RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER SAYS HE'S SEEN MUCH 'GAYER' THGS IN SPORTS CHANGG ROOMS

The top eight teams qualify for the was the only club planng to wear a pri jersey this Manly forward Ian Roberts, who the 1990s was the first high-profile gby league player to e out as gay, said he was not surprised by the players’ cisn. Former Wallabi prop be first Atralian gby ternatnal to e out as gay (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Imag) One-tt Atralia prop Dan Palmer has bee the first Wallabi player to e out as gay, wrg a newspaper lumn on Friday of mental health issu and dg problems while g to terms wh his 32-year-old wrote the Sydney Morng Herald of the anguish of “livg the dream” as an ele athlete while beg trapped a “false narrative”.

After gog public 2009, Thomas also revealed stggl wh personal mons while ncealg his, who played tighthead prop for Atralia agast Stland 2012, said he had overdosed on pakillers while France and woken up a “pool of the prev day’s food” moment was transformative, and he flew to London to share his secret for the first time wh a he said he had never felt discrimated agast the gby environment, Palmer was motivated to e out after former Wallabi fullback Israel Fol posted on social media that hell awas “homosexuals” who do not, a fundamentalist Christian, had his Wallabi ntract torn up by Rugby Atralia last might be achg royalty New Zealand but Steve Hansen's been given a prod om his succsor to leave the All Blacks alone. ”Only a handful of ele gby unn players have e Stanley, who played gby sevens for England, beme the first English profsnal gby unn player to e out ternatnal gby unn referee Nigel Owens, one of the game’s most popular and regnisable officials, me out 2007 and long champned cln for gay sportsmen and ’s lumn triggered an outpourg of support om former team mat and other gby figur. A former English gby league star has rpond to the recent LGBTQIA+ jersey saga engulfg the Manly Sea ex-player Keegan Hirst says 's rather ironic that the group are boyttg wearg the pri k bee he's seen 'what go on changg rooms' and 'would be seen as beg MUCH gayer' than simply wearg a rabow jersey for a AlamyThe Manly Sea Eagl have ma headl across the world this week after releasg their 'Everyone League' jersey – unfortunately, though, wasn't for the right was meant to be a posive move to drive clivy soon turned sour when several players threatened to boytt their next game after refg to wear the club’s rabow Aloiai, Jason Saab, Christian Tuipulotu, Josh Schter, Hmole Olak’atu, Tolut Koula and Toafofoa Sipley have been named as the players qutn and will subsequently miss their next fixture after beg stood down on relig saga hasn't pated anyone volved a particularly pleasant light wh both the players and the club self g unr fire.

A number of big-name figur have had their say on the matter, cludg the NRL's first and only openly-gay player Ian Hirst, who me out as gay 2015 durg his time the UK Super League, has h out at the Sea Eagl players. [spacer height=”20px”]Established 2013, the New Zealand Falns Rugby Football Club are Aotearoa’s premiere gay and clive gby unn and touch team wh the goal of enablg both aspirg and seasoned players to e together to participate and enjoy gby an open and supportive environment.

RUGBY ATRALIA STRIK ALLIANCE WH ATRALIA'S GAY AND CLIVE RUGBY CLUBS

[spacer height=”20px”]The NZ Falns RFC is one of two gay gby clubs New Zealand, an affiliate wh the New Zealand Rugby Unn (NZRU), and one of 75 worldwi member clubs of Internatnal Gay Rugby (IGR).

Rugby Atralia is a Foundatn Member of Pri SportPri Sport is Atralia’s only sportg cln program which helps sportg anisatns and clubs wh the cln of Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr and Intersex (LGBTI) employe, players, volunteers and Atralia is a Foundatn Member of Pri Sport and works wh them to ensure all Atralians are able to enjoy our great means improvg all aspects of LGBTI cln, achievg bt practice as bench-marked by the Pri Sport Inx and creatg better health out for LGBTI workers, players, ach, refere, volunteers and fans through creatg clive spac which remove homophobia, stigma and discrimatn. Rugby Atralia has stck a formal alliance wh Atralia’s four gay and clive Rugby Clubs and Internatnal Gay Rugby (IGR) wh the aim of growg Rugby participatn amongst the LGBTIQA+ muny Atralia. Wh a primary charter to grow the participatn rate of people playg Rugby the LGBTIQA+ muny, the Commtee will look to intify barriers and propose solutns to promote participatn, as well as tg the Rugby muny about the impact of homophobia on the safety and wellbeg of LGBTIQA+ participants.

The Commtee will also look to strengthen and grow the existg four gay and clive Rugby Clubs – Sydney Convicts, Melbourne Chargers, Brisbane Htlers and Perth Rams – and support the velopment of new Clubs.

'MY OWN ATH FELT PREFERABLE TO ANYBODY DISVERG': FORMER WALLABY DAN PALMER OUT AS GAY POWERFUL LUMN

Rugby Atralia Chief Executive, Raelene Castle said: “Rugby Atralia has worked closely wh the gay and clive Rugby clubs to velop a program to further support the velopment of Rugby the LGBTIQA+ muny. As part of the partnership, Rugby Atralia will also work alongsi the clubs and IGR to brg the Bgham Cup - the biennial world champnships of gay Rugby - back to Atralia, havg hosted the tournament for the first time 2014 Sydney.

Oct 30th, 2020Oct 30th, 2020Former Atralian gby star Dan Palmer has bee the first Wallabi player to e out as gay, and jt the send the men's ternatnal a powerful lumn published by the Sydney Morng Herald today, Palmer penned a stirrg acunt of his time as a young man at the height of Rugby Unn tryg to e to terms wh his now 32-year-old revealed the stggl he faced tryg to nceal his homosexualy throughout his reer, durg which he ntemplated endg his life rather than have people disver his tth. (Getty) (Getty)Sadly, Palmer's story is emblematic of the handful of other profsnal athlet that have e out as gay recent s, says Erik Denison, lead rearcher of the Sport Incln Project at Monash Universy, highlightg the lack of progrs on the issue.

"Dan's story is almost the same as athlet who e out before him, like Gareth Thomas 10 years ago, and David Kelley, who is the very first gay athlete to e out as an NFL player back the 70s, " Denison exclively told Wi World of Sports. "Through Denison's rearch to homophobia sport, he found the overwhelmg factor that ntributed to an unwelg environment for gay men was the systemic e of rogatory language.

10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT

"It really down to the language that is beg ed, leav the imprsn that gay athlet are unwele that environment, " he fends the Wallabi' performance agast the All Blacks: 5 Ms wh Fzy"What we found the rearch is that om a very young age young men hear homophobic slurs which are ed nstantly as part of banter.

"And bee they hear homophobic words every time when someone drops a ball or for msg up builds this associatn and their md that is que strong between beg gay and beg unsirable or beg weak. "Palmer, a prop who played one Tt for the Wallabi 2012 and domtilly for the Waratahs and Bmbi between 2008 and 2015, jos Welshman Gareth Thomas as the only other male profsnal gby player to have e out as gay. Rugby is one of the most loved sports the world and due to s physily, is regard as a “manly” sport, which mak more difficult for gay players to publicly acknowledge their preference.

HUGE SUPPORT FOR FORMER WALLABI PLAYER WHO HAS E OUT AS GAY

It is the sport’s rponsibily to posively promote anti-homophobia, and anti-bullyg general, so that the majory of people who are acceptg have a lour voice than those who prott.

After his Saturday afternoon on the pch, is reported that Roberts would spend Saturday night on Oxford Street, Sydney’s gay quarter.

Followg the footsteps of Ian Roberts who may have been the first high-profile player to openly adm beg gay, Keegan Hirst was arguably the first ever to do while still actively playg gby.

JOG THE WORLD'S FIRST GAY GBY TEAM CHANGED MY LIFE. SO I MA A FILM ABOUT

Currently a Wakefield Try prop, Hirst has bee one of the most notable gay athlet, earng him a startg role after signg a ntract wh the League si 2016. In an terview wh the Sunday Mirror, the now divorced father of two and self-nfsed gay tells of the moment he fally found the words to expla to his wife the reason they uld no longer be together. He fends himself by sayg, “Millns of people are the suatn, even people who have been Lrence’s (his partner) suatn and they are still married but are gay.

As a young spired player he stated, “…this is pretty spirg for me as a fairly new player who happens to be gay, I had held off pursug gby bee of but the guys i play wh give no shs whatsoever and we have good banter about . A large athlete at 6 ft 4 (193 cm) and 225 pounds (102 kg), Bgham was a robt send-row man who played for the gay-clive San Francis Fog RFC and was a favore for his teammat the gby songs that he tght them. To honor him, The Mark Kendall Bgham Memorial Tournament, simply known as the Bgham Cup and was started 2002, is a biennial gay gby unn tournament is named after the former gby player.

Gareth ‘Alfie’ Thomas was a profsnal Welsh Rugby player who broke one of the biggt taboos the sport when he announced his homosexualy 2009. In 2010 he was voted the most fluential gay person the UK The Inpennt on Sunday Pk Listand received Stonewall’s Hero of the Year. He scribed his experience as a secretly gay player, revealg how social prsure and stereotyp pose a signifint challenge for many athlet today.

DAN PALMER, FORMER PRO GBY PLAYER, OUT AS GAY TEAR-JERKER OP-ED

"Palmer tailed the mental health issu and dg problems he experienced when g to terms wh his sexualy, although he said he never felt discrimated agast durg his playg mediaBut the long-nng Israel Fol saga, which rulted the wger's sackg by Rugby Atralia after he posted on social media that "hell awas" gay people, was a ntributg factor his cisn to wre the lumn. Many others have done so the women's game, to far ls Denison, a rearcher wh Monash Universy's School of Social Scienc, who has nducted studi examg homophobia and homophobic behavur gby, said the siari between the stori of Palmer and Thomas highlighted the lack of progrs on the issue sport environments.

”ProgrsMuch progrs has been ma by gby unn recent years, cludg a formal agreement ma between Rugby Atralia and LGBTQ+ and clive teams to fight wh no openly gay active male players, Michael Smh of Internatnal Gay Rugby said there was far more work to be done to create sportg environments which men felt fortable to be themselv. The former Wallabi prop scribed a moment when he was drivg recklsly, the feelg of “ath felt preferable to anybody disverg [he] was gay. Here, queer people were reclaimg their place on the pch – an arena they grew up beg told they didn’t belong Israel Fol began postg “hell awas homosexuals” on social media I realised I had to tell the story of the club – and my own story.

Photograph: One Man Band MediaIn fact, om this sgle club, there are now 80 gay and clive gby clubs around the world cludg five Atralia. There was the ocsnal homophobic sledge, but over time the Steelers won the rpect of the straight burly Brish men bee not only did they beat them on ocsn, they showed them that we’re all pretty much the forward to me takg my mera to Amsterdam to film the club at the Bgham Cup, the world cup of “rabow” gby.

LESTER’S NICK MCCARTHY OUT AS GAY AND THANKS CLUB FOR THEIR SUPPORT

It was only when Israel Fol began postg “hell awas homosexuals” on social media that I realised I had to tell the story of the club – and my own like Dan Palmer, I too have Fol to thank small part.

It’s a powerful mt-read story that foc on givg the rear a glimpse to the emotns and mental state of a gay athlete locked a closet wh the key seemgly thrown away. He se Palmer’s story as simultaneoly a lson about the negative impact of homophobic language sports, as well as hopeful spiratn for others.

HEARD OF THE STEELERS? NO, NOT THEM, THE GAY GBY TEAM OM LONDON

Roberts, who the 1990s was the first high-profile gby league player to e out as gay, said he was not surprised, Tuday July 26, 2022, that seven Manly Sea Eagl players whdrew om a Natnal Rugby League match bee they’re unwillg to wear their club’s cln jersey. Former Manly forward Ian Roberts, who the 1990s was the first high-profile gby league player to e out as gay, said he was not surprised by the players’ cisn.

The Lester scm-half Nick McCarthy has e out as gay, and thanked ach Leo Cullen and Stuart Lanster for their “unbelievable” support. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho/ShutterstockFellow Lester player Dunne revealed his bisexualy last year, around the same time Nassib announced he was gay and a few months before Atralian Cavallo ma headl across the world by sharg his news. Niamh LewisMar 1, 2021, 09:52 AM ETWhen Eammon Ashton-Atkson, an Atralian televisn reporter, cid to film his gby club as they went to the biannual Bgham Cup 2018, he uld never have imaged the posive reactn a documentary about would film Steelers is about London-based Kgs Cross Steelers, the world's first gay gby club and one of over 60 such sis world-wi.

Although the stori the film are related to the stggl of g out, prsn, and a history of bullyg for beg gay, they're are told a way which wir dienc n empathise wh. "It's a story about a gay gby club, but 's also a story about human stggle, and people g sport and their sense of muny to help each other, which is universal, " Ashton-Atkson told ESPN. "She's got a certifite for the hight achg level, and sce she left the Steelers she's been nsistently overlooked and not even shortlisted [for jobs] than men who are ls qualified and ls experienced than her, which is heart-breakg and disgtg, " Ashton-Atkson beg gay 2021 wtern society is often unremarkable today, you don't have to go back very far to fd trmatic stori.

INTRODUCG THE ALAI UNIVERSY SHARKS, SOUTH ATRALIA’S FIRST GAY AND CLIVE GBY TEAM

Then, 2019, Atralia's Israel Fol spouted his famo anti-gay ments on Instagram, sayg "hell awas" gay opened the drawer and started the ed aga om scratch, and turned to the unnventnal documentary has bee. You had Margaret Thatcher's Sectn 28 [a law brought the UK by a Conservative ernment om 1988-2003 to the "prohib the promotn of homosexualy"], misnceptns about the HIV vis, " Ashton-Atkson explas. "For those guys who were settg up that team 1995, they were real trailblazers bee they were gog out to different teams Essex week--week out smashg down stereotyp one game of gby at a time and om what I heard, the men Essex, they had never met an openly gay man before, let alone an openly gay sportsman.

FORMER WALLABY DAN PALMER 'HUMBLED' BY SUPPORT AFTER G OUT AS GAY

"And one of the thgs we've been workg on wh Harlequs and Monash Universy is that a lot of that isn't actually homophobia, 's the culture of clubs, the challeng of languag not beg followed through.

‘MY OWN ATH FELT PREFERABLE TO ANYBODY DISVERG I WAS GAY,’ SAYS FORMER GBY PLAYER DAN PALMER

They are South Atralia’s first gay and clive gby team and the natn’s fifth, jog the Sydney Convicts, Melbourne Chargers, Brisbane Htlers and Perth Rams. After ially beg sceptil of Stephens’ plans to create the team, Van Diermen is thrilled to have been part of a team promotg diversy Alai, as they ntribute to the “world-wi gay gby movement.