thomascwaters.com

I’ve posted a number of posts this past year about gays and sports, and this one ranks high on the list in terms of importance. Here in the US, rugby, may not have quite the following that American football or baseball has, but when it comes to tough sports, few match up to rugby. If gays can be playing a manly game like this, well, then they really can be everywhere, right?

I really want to applaud Gareth Thomas for coming out while still being an active player. The few times that big named athletes in predominately macho sports have come out, it has been after they have retired (I believe a few olympic swimmers are the exception to that) but Gareth’s announcement is utterly different. I’d be happy for any well known athlete to come out pre or post retirement, but if an athlete could have come out and didn’t, and then comes out after retirement, it almost supports homophobia and may imply that athletes should hide their sexuality. I don’t think this is anyone’s intent, but that may not change the implication. By coming out in one of the roughest sports anywhere, while still being an active player, a new message is reverberating in every sports arena around the globe!

The individual act of coming out, is possibly the single most important thing any person can do to help the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer communities. By remaining hidden in the closet, the message is sent that we do not need equality; that we can be happy with second class citizenship, and we will never have more if we are happy with what we already have. Of the various professions that place people in the public spotlight, sports is probably the profession that can impact the GLBTQ rights movement the most, since gender roles and concepts of masculinity are perpetrated there more than anywhere else. I think coming out must remain an individual decision, and so anyone who chooses to remain hidden, must still be respected for that decision, but if group should be encouraged to come out, it should be athletes. Athletes have the ability to change everyone’s perceptions, and that can be most of the battle when it comes to gaining rights.

Gay activists praise rugby star Gareth Thomas’s decision to come out | World news | The Observer.