Australian rules football player comes out: ‘I’m not sure if sports are ready for gay players’
An Australian rules footballer has come out as gay, admitting that he went off the idea of playing after he realised he is gay.
Rhyian Anderson-Morley, a player for the Yarraville Seddon Eagles, writes for The Age, about his decision to come out as gay, discussing the difficulties, and saying
He writes: “As a young child, like many in this country, I grew up wanting to play Australian rules. But when I started to realise I was gay, I withdrew into myself, stopped playing sport, and generally just lost myself in this person I thought I had to be.
“As an adult, however, I learnt what it really meant to be a homosexual man. And, surprisingly enough, it was pretty similar to being a normal man.”
Continuing, he writes: “As a gay footballer, I see several different attitudes to homophobia in our game, and all have cropped up in recent weeks. I’d call them the good, the bad and the ugly.”
“I’m still not sure whether I made the right decision [coming out], but I am sure about two things. One, that the more you talk about it and the bigger deal you make about there being gay football players, the harder it becomes to make that bold move. And two, that I feel kind of stuck at the moment – I haven’t been sure whether to make that decision and come out to the boys at my club, whether it is worth the drama or not. I guess this column is my way of doing that,” he continues.
“It’s not as though I would act any differently if they knew (maybe I’m lucky enough to not be an obviously gay man), but how many more incidents like those I’ve described can I witness before deciding I have had enough and give up on football, the sport I love more than anything.
“I don’t know whether footy is ready for an openly gay player. But events like those over recent weeks have helped me at least decide that it’s time I found out.”
Canadian Olympic luger John Fennell also came out as gay last week on his 19th birthday.
