World's first gay gby club turns 20 | CNN

Contents:

• JOG THE WORLD'S FIRST GAY GBY TEAM CHANGED MY LIFE. SO I MA A FILM ABOUT
• WORLD’S FIRST GAY GBY CLUB TURNS 20: ‘NO-ONE HAD SEEN PLAYERS LIKE BEFORE’
• WORLD’S FIRST GAY GBY CLUB TURNS 20: ‘NO ONE HAD SEEN PLAYERS LIKE BEFORE’

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

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 receive.The 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."I've never done this before [ma a documentary], I jt knew there was a good story there to be told, but I didn't really expect such a great reactn and I was surprised that alli the straight muny really nnect wh the film."The film, released late 2020 Atralia, also highlights the challeng women the gby world face, through the team's then-director of gby Nic Evans. The former Wal ternatnal explas the tratn of beg unrtimated and overlooked her achg bee she is a woman achg a men's team."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 says.Though beg gay 2021 wtern society is often unremarkable today, you don't have to go back very far to fd trmatic stori.

We've gone om havg the horrible experienc which had left so many big srs to now jt beg like, 'Well everythg is ok so you should jt get on wh and be grateful,'" he explas."That whiplash is what ed me the prsn bee I grew up always beg bullied everyday relentlsly, and that meant I stggled to form iendships and didn't know how."I beme very sular and cut off om my fay and so all those thgs took a long time to repair to the pot where I jo the club and for me that was the fal healg I gus I need om all those experienc."But, if 's easier to e out now, then why do we need gay gby clubs?"People say, 'Shouldn't you jt play for a straight team?' And I gus that's the whole pot of the film," he says."If I wanted to play at a straight club, I would have to qutn is safe to e out? Will thgs be said behd my back?"That's a thought that do go through your md, and while 's generally a posive there are still pockets of homophobia."Steelers club chairman Matt Webb go even further, tellg ESPN: "I thk that still ti to the need for people to e together the same muny who have shared lived experienc.

WORLD’S FIRST GAY GBY CLUB TURNS 20: ‘NO-ONE HAD SEEN PLAYERS LIKE BEFORE’

Then, 2019, Atralia's Israel Fol spouted his famo anti-gay ments on Instagram, sayg "hell awas" gay people.Ashton-Atkson opened the drawer and started the ed aga om scratch, and turned to the unnventnal documentary has bee. Not jt some flippant throwaway ment, so y you might be good at throwg and kickg a ball but that don't give you the right to validate people for who they are."Wh beg gay, you don't thk that I grew up sperately wantg to change my sexualy, like, wishg the gay away?

They were dubbed the tabloids as 'Harlequeens,' there was homophobic ments, and a fear over ntractg HIV and AIDS.

A 'what happens if they start bleedg on the pch?' attu."For those of who grew up when wasn't ok to be gay, jt really before the ter was mon, there was huge stigma.

WORLD’S FIRST GAY GBY CLUB TURNS 20: ‘NO ONE HAD SEEN PLAYERS LIKE BEFORE’

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."For them to jt pretty much realise, 'Hey, we're pretty much the same as you'. However, "There are still issu wh homophobia and homophobic language beg ed on the pch."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."People g the same words bee they want to look big and imprsive, or prove their masculy.

The former Wallabi prop scribed a moment when he was drivg recklsly, the feelg of “ath felt preferable to anybody disverg [he] was gay. Not jt any gby club, the world’s first gay gby club, the Kgs Cross Steelers London. 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.