NPR

So Levi Davis has come out as bi sexual. Good for him and hopefully allow others to feel a lot more comfortable taking the same/similar steps.

Raggs wrote: Sun Sep 13, 2020 10:54 am So Levi Davis has come out as bi sexual. Good for him and hopefully allow others to feel a lot more comfortable taking the same/similar steps.

At the top level maybe, but plenty lower down the leagues

I meant to put in professional. Obviously plenty lower down.

in many ways i dont really care, someones sexuality has fuck all to do with their rugby playing ability, good for him and if it makes others in his position feel more comfortable then great.

ASMO wrote: Sun Sep 13, 2020 11:04 am in many ways i dont really care, someones sexuality has fuck all to do with their rugby playing ability, good for him and if it makes others in his position feel more comfortable then great.

I know exactly what you mean. It really shouldn't matter, but unfortunately it really does, so someone like that can really help push us towards it not mattering.

Raggs wrote: Sun Sep 13, 2020 11:11 am

ASMO wrote: Sun Sep 13, 2020 11:04 am in many ways i dont really care, someones sexuality has fuck all to do with their rugby playing ability, good for him and if it makes others in his position feel more comfortable then great.

I know exactly what you mean. It really shouldn't matter, but unfortunately it really does, so someone like that can really help push us towards it not mattering.

Yeah, other gay or bi players will be put off if they think they are alone.

If they want to keep it to themselves fine but if they feel they have to keep it to themselves, that's a problem IMO. Never want to see rugby go down the road of soccer's toxic culture.

Raggs wrote: Sun Sep 13, 2020 11:11 am

ASMO wrote: Sun Sep 13, 2020 11:04 am in many ways i dont really care, someones sexuality has fuck all to do with their rugby playing ability, good for him and if it makes others in his position feel more comfortable then great.

I know exactly what you mean. It really shouldn't matter, but unfortunately it really does, so someone like that can really help push us towards it not mattering.

Totally agree

ASMO wrote: Sun Sep 13, 2020 11:04 am in many ways i dont really care, someones sexuality has fuck all to do with their rugby playing ability, good for him and if it makes others in his position feel more comfortable then great.

I think it's almost more important with bi-sexuality than homosexulaity now. Bi-erasure is a thing and they cop it from both hetero- and homosexuals; I gather the the latter are surprisingly, given what many of then will have faced, dismissive often framing bi-sexuality as a fear of fully coming out.

thot he had a gay vibe while watching x-factor last year...bet there is more, lot more..ore likelihood of a few coming out in the lower leagues and french leagues than major ones.

Watch your step!

We had a gay player at our club, nobody cared or minded and the only bantz were the obvious ones like ‘Pete do you want a white wine spritzer ?’ Or ‘stop looking at my willy you Gaylord’
He was a nice chap and a decent player, had a gorgeous fiancée before he fully outed himself when he was about 25. Apparently his rugby pals were the only group to a man who stood by him and supported him, and plenty of his own pals and family shunned him once he went open - scumbags.

Can’t for the life of me recall his surname or actually if he was Pete, might have been steve. I’m shit with names tbf but i can vividly recall his fiancées arse in white jeans she wore.

stemoc wrote: Sun Sep 13, 2020 12:35 pm thot he had a gay vibe while watching x-factor last year...bet there is more, lot more..ore likelihood of a few coming out in the lower leagues and french leagues than major ones.

Watch your step!

i'm comets, not oceanbreeze...i have a gaydar, not a gayhater.

The fact that there has not been an openly gay elite Rugby player across all of SANZAAR in the history of Rugby suggests our sport has a long way to go before we are truly inclusive. Throw in the rules to effectively block participation by Trans people, and it's clear there is still lots of work to be done by WR.

Carter's Choice wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 9:30 am The fact that there has not been an openly gay elite Rugby player across all of SANZAAR in the history of Rugby suggests our sport has a long way to go before we are truly inclusive. Throw in the rules to effectively block participation by Trans people, and it's clear there is still lots of work to be done by WR.

Wasn't there a league player who came out after his career finished? Pretty high level one if I remember correctly.

Carter's Choice wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 9:30 am The fact that there has not been an openly gay elite Rugby player across all of SANZAAR in the history of Rugby suggests our sport has a long way to go before we are truly inclusive. Throw in the rules to effectively block participation by Trans people, and it's clear there is still lots of work to be done by WR.

It's also a cultural thing. I struggle with the idea of a South African rugby player coming out and not being subject to ridicule.

Uncle fester wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 10:56 am

Carter's Choice wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 9:30 am The fact that there has not been an openly gay elite Rugby player across all of SANZAAR in the history of Rugby suggests our sport has a long way to go before we are truly inclusive. Throw in the rules to effectively block participation by Trans people, and it's clear there is still lots of work to be done by WR.

Wasn't there a league player who came out after his career finished? Pretty high level one if I remember correctly.

Ian Roberts. One player in the history of professional Rugby League in Australia coming out, years after retiring, is also an indictment on that sport.

Carter's Choice wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 11:04 am

Uncle fester wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 10:56 am

Carter's Choice wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 9:30 am The fact that there has not been an openly gay elite Rugby player across all of SANZAAR in the history of Rugby suggests our sport has a long way to go before we are truly inclusive. Throw in the rules to effectively block participation by Trans people, and it's clear there is still lots of work to be done by WR.

Wasn't there a league player who came out after his career finished? Pretty high level one if I remember correctly.

Ian Roberts. One player in the history of professional Rugby League in Australia coming out, years after retiring, is also an indictment on that sport.

What was the general reaction, out of curiosity?

Uncle fester wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 11:44 am

Carter's Choice wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 11:04 am

Uncle fester wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 10:56 am

Wasn't there a league player who came out after his career finished? Pretty high level one if I remember correctly.

Ian Roberts. One player in the history of professional Rugby League in Australia coming out, years after retiring, is also an indictment on that sport.

What was the general reaction, out of curiosity?

Supportive.

Folau will be next, once his money runs dry..

Trans players are being blocked for safety reasons, not moral ones.

Yeeb wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 8:33 am We had a gay player at our club, nobody cared or minded and the only bantz were the obvious ones like ‘Pete do you want a white wine spritzer ?’ Or ‘stop looking at my willy you Gaylord’
He was a nice chap and a decent player, had a gorgeous fiancée before he fully outed himself when he was about 25. Apparently his rugby pals were the only group to a man who stood by him and supported him, and plenty of his own pals and family shunned him once he went open - scumbags.

Can’t for the life of me recall his surname or actually if he was Pete, might have been steve. I’m shit with names tbf but i can vividly recall his fiancées arse in white jeans she wore.

I have a gay relative in London and when I attended her same sex wedding in London there was a large gathering of mostly gay friends to celebrate the occasion. Her parents had traveled from NZ and her father gave a speech like any proud father would on his daughters wedding day. At one point he said words to the effect of 'we wouldn't have missed it for the world' and virtually received a standing ovation from the guests. Sadly many of them had been rejected by their own families after coming out. So whilst it's becoming much more accepted in the mainstream there is still a stigma for some and it's still a wider societal issue. Not just a rugby issue. Perhaps it's a generational thing and will improve over time.

I certainly have a lot of hope for the next generation of adults. I used to work at a high school smack dab in the middle of farm country and there were a few 'out' kids there, including one dude who dressed quite flamboyantly. From a few kids and one teacher who's job it is to deal with the worst kids every day, the consensus was that no one cared or, if anyone did, they kept their mouths shut about it and left them alone.

Carter's Choice wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 11:04 am

Uncle fester wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 10:56 am

Carter's Choice wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 9:30 am The fact that there has not been an openly gay elite Rugby player across all of SANZAAR in the history of Rugby suggests our sport has a long way to go before we are truly inclusive. Throw in the rules to effectively block participation by Trans people, and it's clear there is still lots of work to be done by WR.

Wasn't there a league player who came out after his career finished? Pretty high level one if I remember correctly.

Ian Roberts. One player in the history of professional Rugby League in Australia coming out, years after retiring, is also an indictment on that sport.

Roberts came out in 95 and retired in 98.

I know of one low capped All Black who is gay. Not openly in the sense that the wider public know, he just doesn't have the profile. But his friends, family, colleagues do.

As Bungle said, Ian Roberts came out while he was playing but it was well known beforehand. A few players may have used this information to niggle him on the field but he was a terrifically violent man on the field and it typically ended with him belting the snot out of the other player.

LOIG players don't count, most are rapists, law breakers, numbskulls, wife beaters,dog fuckers (2 big names lol) and who knows what all the dumb shit they do when cameras aren't rolling, its impossible to go a month without one loig player doing something stupid... won't be surprised if many of them actually are gay, some infact keep having kids to hide that fact, and not just in loig but in a lot of sports..its a shame most only ever come out once they get caught or into their retirement.. didn't Roberts coming out infact was beneficial to his career? pretty sure got a lot of acting gigs since then.

That's strike 2

As a Welshman, I am immensely proud of Gar Thomas - our gay is a lot tougher than yours AND he's scored tries against the ABs, captained the Lions, etc.

Ledge.

stemoc wrote: Wed Sep 16, 2020 1:56 am LOIG players don't count, most are rapists, law breakers, numbskulls, wife beaters,dog fuckers (2 big names lol) and who knows what all the dumb shit they do when cameras aren't rolling, its impossible to go a month without one loig player doing something stupid... won't be surprised if many of them actually are gay, some infact keep having kids to hide that fact, and not just in loig but in a lot of sports..its a shame most only ever come out once they get caught or into their retirement.. didn't Roberts coming out infact was beneficial to his career? pretty sure got a lot of acting gigs since then.

Do you take Ritalin?

stemoc wrote: Wed Sep 16, 2020 1:56 am didn't Roberts coming out infact was beneficial to his career? pretty sure got a lot of acting gigs since then.

I think that had something to do with him studying at NIDA and becoming an actor...

Thommo wrote: Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:25 am

stemoc wrote: Wed Sep 16, 2020 1:56 am didn't Roberts coming out infact was beneficial to his career? pretty sure got a lot of acting gigs since then.

I think that had something to do with him studying at NIDA and becoming an actor...

no, i'm saying his career didn't just magically end by coming out, he did come out at 30 and with LOIG, 30 is "old" as most players that reach that age are usually pushed out by NRL and he was out by 33 with other career plans....he got a lot of publicity after coming out, to think none of that played any part of him getting acting gigs early in his career is silly....do we know any other rugby player (loig or union) who decide to pursue an acting career after their rugby career ended?

stemoc wrote: Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:35 am

Thommo wrote: Wed Sep 16, 2020 4:25 am

stemoc wrote: Wed Sep 16, 2020 1:56 am didn't Roberts coming out infact was beneficial to his career? pretty sure got a lot of acting gigs since then.

I think that had something to do with him studying at NIDA and becoming an actor...

no, i'm saying his career didn't just magically end by coming out, he did come out at 30 and with LOIG, 30 is "old" as most players that reach that age are usually pushed out by NRL and he was out by 33 with other career plans....he got a lot of publicity after coming out, to think none of that played any part of him getting acting gigs early in his career is silly....do we know any other rugby player (loig or union) who decide to pursue an acting career after their rugby career ended?

Martin Bayfield...

Raggs wrote: Sun Sep 13, 2020 11:11 am

ASMO wrote: Sun Sep 13, 2020 11:04 am in many ways i dont really care, someones sexuality has fuck all to do with their rugby playing ability, good for him and if it makes others in his position feel more comfortable then great.

I know exactly what you mean. It really shouldn't matter, but unfortunately it really does, so someone like that can really help push us towards it not mattering.

“matters” that’s a subjective thing, it matters to some and not to others. It doesn’t matter to me, I’m have no moral (another subjective concept) authority to tell others what should or should not matter.

It is utterly irrelevant to me what someone else’s sexuality is. It’s none of my business. I won’t make it my business and nor will anyone else make it my business.