Gay cricketers won’t e out until 'stigma' is tackled, boss warned

Contents:

• HEATH DAVIS BE FIRST MALE NEW ZEALAND CRICKETER TO E OUT AS GAY
• GAY CRICKETERS WON’T E OUT UNTIL ‘STIGMA’ IS KNOCKED FOR SIX, BOSS WARNED
• ATRALIAN CRICKETER JAM FLKNER REVEALS HE IS GAY ON HIS 29TH BIRTHDAY

HEATH DAVIS BE FIRST MALE NEW ZEALAND CRICKETER TO E OUT AS GAY

Former New Zealand Tt player Heath Davis has bee the untry’s first male ternatnal cricketer to publicly speak about beg, 50, played five Tts and 11 one-day ternatnals for the Black Caps between 1994 and 1997 and was known as an timidatg, if nsistent, pace s after his Tt but, Davis publicly revealed his sexualy for the first time, an episo of the documentary seri Scratched: Aotearoa’s Lost Sportg first ternatnal male cricketer to e out publicly was the former England wicketkeeper Steven Davi was durg Davis’s first tour to England 1994 when he started to really disver himself, he told The Spoff, though he had told his mother at an early age he was gay. ”He gused some of his teammat knew he was gay before he told a uple of them 1997 but he was never qutned about . “I certaly wasn’t livg a gay life, wasn’t part of the scene, didn’t have a partner.

There was nothg to tie to, if you know what I mean, ” Davis entered his first gay relatnship when he was 27 years old, while playg for Wellgton, but he was reluctant to appear public as a uple. When an offer of a ntract me om Auckland, Davis saw an opportuny to move away om the cy he did not felt fortable beg out the uple ma the move to Auckland, Davis told his new team’s manager he was gay, which was passed on to his team members and “didn’t seem to be that big an issue” is now on a new journey – one that exists tensn wh his sexualy.

Photograph: supplied by Heath DavisAn ternatnal study on homophobia sport, released May, revealed that New Zealand gay and bisexual men were the most likely to keep their sexualy secret both youth and adult sports, wh many sayg they feared bullyg om teammat and discrimatn om ach and than half of all participants believed team sport is more homophobic than the rt of New Zealand society, while gay men were much more likely to believe this (69%) than anyone Wellgton Firebirds player, Stephen Mather, said Davis told him about his sexualy 1997, when there were no other outwardly gay men playg first class cricket at that time. ”Homophobic attus sport still very much exist, said Malee Chapman, The Spoff’s edor and producer of the documentary seri. Cricketer Steve Davi is the first and only English male pro to e out as gay.

GAY CRICKETERS WON’T E OUT UNTIL ‘STIGMA’ IS KNOCKED FOR SIX, BOSS WARNED

Gay cricket ach and activist Sam Schofield has cricised the England and Wal Cricket Board (ECB) for “lettg down” the LGBTQ+ muny. After Jake Daniels beme England’s first pro male footballer to e out as gay more than three s, Schofield spoke of the need for more LGBTQ+ role mols cricket.

ATRALIAN CRICKETER JAM FLKNER REVEALS HE IS GAY ON HIS 29TH BIRTHDAY

Comparatively, the women’s divisn has players like Natalie Sciver and Kathere Bnt, an openly gay cricketer uple. The all-rounr had won the Man of the Match award the 2015 World Cup fal which Atralia had won by beatg New Zealand by 7 many sportspersons have e out the open the past revealg their gay inty, the number of such stanc cricket, pecially the men’s sectn, has been srce. In 2011, former England ternatnal Steven Davi beme the sport’s first active profsnal player to announce that he is gay.

Openly gay cricketers?