Have you witnessed homophobia in sports?
I personally have not.

Do you think that after Gareth Thomas came out as gay and the antibullying campaign that Ben Cohen works on that professional sports will be more accepting of openly gay players?
I hope so. Someone’s sexual preference shouldn’t have any effect on whether some can be professional sportsmen. They should be appreciated for their talent.

What advice would you give to a teammate who is deciding whether to come out as gay?
I would say that the only people that matter will understand anyway. Life is too short to worry about what people think and let that dictate your life. Do what makes you happy.

And as he told the Gay Times, the photo shoot doesn’t hurt his standing with his girlfriend:

She loved it actually; she’s really looking forward to seeing the pictures. She’s very supportive.

Who wouldn’t? Besides, rugby players love to get naked: Something about the culture of that sport. No wonder gay rugby has taken off as it has.

Share on Facebook

So much of the popularity of these drinks are the image of the company (why you’ll see about a trillion dollars in beer commercials during the Super Bowl). If you believe the average pro athlete, gay ownership should kill the profits of a company like this; Will they here with Alfie? Doubtful.

Share on Facebook

He told Brian that he will “be myself and prove my family proud.” The Welshman said he was “happy to be here” although it sounds like he’s already out to win, telling the host “I am competative at everything I do”.

Gareth added that he has a short fuse and said that “If the housemates deserve my Welsh temper, they’ll get it”.

I didn’t recognize any of the other “celebrities” listed as contestants with Thomas. Though, I think most people struggle to recognize a lot of the “celebrities” in these C-list TV series.

Good luck to Thomas! We’d love to see him win something where he doesn’t have to break his teeth to do it!

Share on Facebook

Rugby literally means “From the rook fortress”, meaning essentially “a homosexual fortress”.  Before the age of the internet and communication, this name was only known to the ‘in crowd’ of the gay community that they had a place to secretly practice their perversion.  The gays in England had created themselves a safe haven under the code name “Rugby”.

Seasoned rugby players are confident and aggressive in expressing their homosexuality. In this image, a freshman rugby student is being stripped of pants and is going to be ‘scrummed’ from behind. If your son has moved to the Southern California area and has joined a rugby squad, quick, decisive action is needed as most rugby players are coerced into a gay act within one week of practice. The freshman in this image will never forget his first scrummed throbbing gristle.In its modern incarnation, a game of rugby is as raunchy as a group of desperate cat-nipped toking Vegas crack strippers jostling a drunken Hugh Hefner at 3am.  Desperate hands clamor for a touch of flesh, hoping to get some sort of secret jollies while a crowd of somewhat intrigued yet disgusted passerbys look at the pathetic and obvious flesh fest.

The article demonstrates clearly that rugby can be linked to the spread of homosexual diseases like “syphillis, gay bowel disease and sore throats.”

But the absolute best part of the piece are the comments, largely from straight diehard rugby fans who didn’t see the Howard Stern quote at the top….

Hat tip to Jason Clodfelter.

Share on Facebook

Note: The story from wharf.co.uk originally said Smith and Thomas were romantic partners, but Thomas said that was a confusion of the word “partner.” They are partners in business only.

Sean Smith is Thomas’ business partner, as the two have co-founded Sean Smith & Associates, a legal recruitment firm. From the company’s site:

Co-founded by leading legal recruiter Sean Smith and Gareth Thomas, former Wales & British Lions Rugby Captain, our clients are a broad mix of both publicly and privately funded law firms of all sizes.

Smith says just because Thomas co-founded the company doesn’t mean he gets a posh office with a cushy job:

Gareth wants a serious business career. He’s in the office three-and-a-half days a week, and he’s starting off doing the photocopying and everything else. But he’s the most determined man I’ve ever met and I have no doubt he’ll make a success of it.

Can you imagine this hulking man dropping off your photocopies at your desk? I also chuckled at the idea that “He’s very serious…he works three-and-a-half days a week!” If that’s a tough work week in England, sign me up!

Hat tip to Roger R.

Share on Facebook

I was gay when I woke up and I still am. It sounds strange but when I came round I immediately felt different. I wasn’t interested in women any more. I was definitely gay. I had never been attracted to a man before – I’d never even had any gay friends. But I didn’t care about who I was before, I had to be true to my feelings.

Birch is now gayer than Christmas, with a completely new look, a completely new boyfriend, and a completely new career as a hairdresser.

The best part of all of this is that Birch says he “wouldn’t change a thing.” I’ve often said if I could choose  my sexual orientation (which I don’t think I can), I’d choose to be gay. It is the best. Thing. Ever!

Share on Facebook

We’ll chronicle the sports-heavy list when it becomes public; Already released is activist David Mixner, a devout sports fan whom we’ve profiled here before.

Share on Facebook

“I met someone earlier this year who said he could not be with someone who was in the closet. That, basically, was the catalyst that I needed.

“Before that, I think I had already told about ten friends and their reaction was very positive so that gave me an inkling of what might happen. And I also thought if the crap really hits the fan then at least there are ten people on my side!”

I think it’s cool that meeting someone he wanted to be with helped Hooper to realize he couldn’t stay closeted. Hooper came out in the most modern of ways — on his Facebook page.

“The text basically said something along the lines that ‘I’ve been hiding it and fighting it for too long, and I can’t hide any more. If you can accept me this way then great … and if you can’t then I don’t need you and you can get lost!’

“I then cried my eyes out as I was thinking to myself ‘what have you done?, but very quickly I must have had 40 replies and all of them were positive.”

The reaction from his team and the community has been overwhelmingly positive. Hooper offered to step down as captain if the team thought it would be a distraction, but they would have none of it. Most of the comments on his Facebook page after the article came out were teasing him about one thing or another, a sign that he is very popular and outgoing. “Rumour has it you only did the interview to try and get a boyfriend!” read one.

“If anyone is reading this and they’re in the same situation as me, all I want to say is don’t bottle things up because, trust me, there is light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “The world’s not against you. If my story can help one person then this has been worth it.”

Hooper is the second Welsh rugby player to come out publicly, after Gareth Thomas (now retired). He sounds like a terrific guy who loves life and rugby and he will make a terrific role model for anyone who thinks coming out in a “macho” sport is impossible.

Note: Hooper is Welsh but plays for Bristol in England. I first had Bristol in Wales, so my apologies to whomever that would have bothered.

Share on Facebook

I have listened and discussed this decision with many of my family and close friends. My mind has told me that the time to retire is now. If you can’t give 100 percent to rugby then you can’t do it justice. This is a sad day, but I know that my time has come to an end as a player. My passion for the amazing game will never end or leave me however.

I do not know what lies ahead, but I feel the challenge of something different excites me more than another year of rugby.

I would like to thank everyone I have been involved with in the sport. I could not have achieved it without any of them. I have great memories and great friends that I will keep for the rest of my life. I leave knowing I have done everything in my power to be the best person and player I could have ever been. And finally, I thank my parents for all their support and help throughout my career.

The 37-year-old has played professionally since the mid-’90s. He geared up for eight different teams in Rugby Union before switching to Rugby League in 2010. He is one of the greatest Welsh rugby players of all time.

With the retirement of Thomas and Ben Cohen, the sport has lost two active opponents of homophobia. Cohen has dedicated his retired life to fighting that homophobia, and we know Thomas will do something of the same. We wish him all the luck in the world in whatever he chooses to do next.

Share on Facebook

Ross Ford of Scotland

The Rugby World Cup just ended in New Zealand, with the host Kiwis taking the title with a hard-fought 8-7 win over France. In honor of the event, Dean Knight, a gay fan, has put together his all-hot team from the event. His list on Facebook caught the eye of the New Zealand Herald:

The page had 273 likes and lots of discussion on the wall about which players should be selected. It also features plenty of pictures of topless rugby players. …

Knight said, “The team has a good balance of shapes and sizes, with some big and beefy players, some hirsute, some clean-cut, some suave and sultry. And even a twinky Justin Bieber look-alike.”

David Pocock from Australia was put on the list, both for his looks and for his support of gay marriage. Openly gay referee Nigel Owens was on the list in the ref slot. The Herald noted that Kiwi Dan Carter was left off the list. “The view was taken that the underwear man is now past his prime,” Knight said. I love it — controversy in an all-hot list.

The complete team here.

Hat tip to Dean Knight for thinking of us.

Share on Facebook