Wales rugby player Gareth Thomas announces he is gay

[CardShark]

The Cardiff Blues full-back, 35, told the Daily Mail newspaper that keeping his sexuality a secret had made his adult life agony and feelings of guilt towards his wife Jemma plunged him into depression.

Wales rugby player Gareth Thomas announces he is gay - Yahoo! Eurosport UK

If you don't wonna get pissed off don't read the comments, lets hope they don't have kids.

[kitschcamp]

I'm pleased to finally see sports stars coming out - we seem to finally be turning the corner, and finding quite a few gay sports stars being prepared to say so. That it's ultra macho sports such as rugby makes it even more important, I feel, in popping the bubble that gay = weak and effeminate.

[marshlander]

This is good news and long overdue. Congratulations to Gareth Thomas and many wishes for a happier and more stable future. I guess it was inevitable that a rugby player would break the silence first. We'll know that we really have turned a corner when footballers also feel safe enough to come out.

[Kiid]

Well rugby is a gay game guys trying to got with the guy of the other team who has the ball. But is cool to here about famous people coming out. Maybe some day it will be normal for people to be gay just like being white is normal.

[fredv3b]

We'll know that we really have turned a corner when footballers also feel safe enough to come out.

I fear that is some way off yet. Apparently, an FA campaign against homophobia is stalled in part because they are unable to get high profile players to be an active part of it (details here). I suspect that coming out would be a disastrous career move for any but the best players, and for those top-flight players coming out would kill off many personal sponsorship / advertising deals. Given the huge loss in potential earnings for a guy with very limited career spans I think it would be unsurprising if he chose to stay in the closet, at least until he retired.

Also some of you may find this post interesting, its from the personal blog of John Amaechi, the British Born former NBA star.

[marshlander]

White is normal?

[Dark Angel]

lol not much a fan of rugby would prefer as marsh said, footballers starting to come out

[Dark Angel]

Not much a fan of rugby, though as marsh said it would be awesome if footballers started coming out

Anyhow good luck with him, hope he has a happier life now

[princealbertofb]

A programme on French tv two days ago was about being gay in the sports communities... and why it was so difficult to come out. Largely, it was said, and argued, that being gay in such a homophobic environment is still very difficult. So that explains why such teams or associations exist as gay football teams, or gay rugby teams. It doesn't explain why the Dieux du Stade started this whole thing of naked men calendars, though... (How many years has it been now? they are becoming quite the collectibles.) Now everyone's doing it around the world. Except maybe in very stuck up countries.

[fredv3b]

Apparently, an FA campaign against homophobia is stalled in part because they are unable to get high profile players to be an active part of it (details here).

It seems that the FA is having even more difficulty with its anti-homophobia campaign (details here).