International rugger superstar craved man-love

[mandrill]

Welsh rugger superstar Gareth Thomas is out of the closet in an article in the sleazy UK tabloid, The Daily Mail, which interviewed Thomas' wife.

In all seriousness, the wife, the article and the comments are all surprisingly supportive of Thomas who has written about his struggle to come to terms with his sexual orientation.

AFAIK, this is the first time that a major player in a competitive major league team sport has acknowledged that he is gay. I cannot imagine the crap that would hit the fan if a US baseball player or football came out of the closet publicly. At the very least, his endorsements would disappear and he would be openly heckled. I think it very doubtful that he would get the support the British media and fans are giving Thomas.

 

[to-guy69]

Well I don't think a NBA or NHL star would be coming out if he were gay in north america ..

While he wasn't a "star", John Amaechi after his retirement from the NBA in 2007 became the first openly gay NBA player after coming out in his memoir Man In The Middle.

 

[basketcase]

And he got quite the response. I believe the top of the barrel was Latrell Sprewell who said he would have killed Amaechi if he knew.

 

[Brill]

It's sad to read that someone felt suicidal because they feared coming out, I hope his story helps other gays become accepted for who they are.
Athletes are the strongest and toughest men, that doesn't change if they happen to be gay.

 

[mandrill]

And he got quite the response. I believe the top of the barrel was Latrell Sprewell who said he would have killed Amaechi if he knew.

Wasn't Latrell Sprewell the ding-dong who twice tried to strangle his coach?!

 

[mandrill]

It's sad to read that someone felt suicidal because they feared coming out, I hope his story helps other gays become accepted for who they are.
Athletes are the strongest and toughest men, that doesn't change if they happen to be gay.

Yes, I think he deliberately went public to assist other young men in accepting and understanding their sexuality. Quite an admirable thing to do!

 

[The Oracle]

Wasn't Latrell Sprewell the ding-dong who twice tried to strangle his coach?!

Yes he was.

 

[to-guy69]

MLB umpire John Hirschbeck was spat in the face by Roberto Alomar because the ump called Roberto a "faggot" after a disputed call.

NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia found it necessary to quell rumors by announcing publicly that he was heterosexual.

Baseball player Mike Piazza once called a news conference to announce he was not gay.

Former Denver running back Garrison Hearst, in one of his more sensitive moments, declared: "I don't want any faggots on my team".

Major league baseball pitcher Todd Jones told the Denver Post he didn't want any "gays" around.

.....if there is going to be a top pro athlete in his prime to come out in North America, it certainly seems more likely in an individualized sport versus a team oriented sport.

 

[HOF]

Isn't Stephan Richer gay. I believe his partner is/was Roche Voisine?

 

[C Dick]

It depends on the stature of the athlete. If a fringe guy came out, he would be shunned by his teammates, and then cut. But if LeBron came out, it would now be cool to be gay.

 

[Julian]

I think it will happen any day now, a big name pro athlete will come out of the closet...society is ready to accept it. It would be funny if that athlete was some bad ass mma fighter who was very open about his sexuality.