Another Athelete Comes Out

[Breakwood]

There was talk earlier about Bryan Burke's son admitting he was gay. Some people said it was a step in the right direction that a gay athlete felt he could admit his sexual preference. There were also some that said that until a big name athlete had the courage to do it, the taboo may still stick. Well I think this is the biggest name to come out as gay.

Rugby icon Gareth Thomas's outing a shocker

Even in this age of enlightenment, a professional athlete considering exiting the homosexuality closet must first exorcise demons.

For hulking British rugby star Gareth Thomas, outing himself last week came only after the disintegration of his marriage, thoughts of suicide and an emotional breakdown.

Calling his former secret "a tight knot in my stomach, always threatening to seep out," he told Britain's Daily Mail, "I was like a ticking bomb. I thought I could suppress it, keep it locked away in some dark corner of myself, but I couldn't."

Thomas, billed as the first top British sports figure to declare he is gay, has become the subject of intense media scrutiny following a candid and heartfelt description of his life as a homosexual in one of the world's most macho sports.

The 35-year-old Thomas is a legend in Welsh rugby, captain of the touring British & Irish Lions and the most capped Wales player with 100 appearances.

He said he agreed to his high-profile public outing in order to push the sporting world in the footsteps of other professions where openly gay people are accepted.

The reaction he's received from family and teammates has been "amazing," he said. Even his former wife, Jemma Thomas, told the Daily Mail she is "incredibly proud of him for coming out."

"If anyone thinks any less of him because of it, then they are stupid," said Thomas, who now lives in Spain. "It will be even more of a relief now that everyone knows."

The couple, who had known each other since their teens, were married in 2002, even though Thomas admitted to the Mail that he knew he was gay by the age of 16.

His wife recalled to the newspaper the day Thomas finally called her to say he was gay.

"It was the worst day of my life. It almost felt as if someone I loved had suddenly died, but he was still standing there in front of me, alive but lost to me. I didn't feel anger ? if anything, I felt sorry for him."

Thomas's internal turmoil was overwhelming at times.

"I've stood on so many cliff edges," he told the Daily Mail. "I used to go to the cliffs overlooking the beach near our cottage ... and just think about jumping off and ending it all."

The couple kept up the appearances of marriage, but eventually separated in 2006, with Thomas torn by his love for his wife and his own sexuality. He finally broke down in tears after a Wales game in Cardiff and confessed his secret to a coach, who rallied a few of his teammates to his side.

Their reaction surprised him.

"They came in, patted me on the back and said: `We don't care. Why didn't you tell us before?'"

Thomas insisted he will not make his coming out "a crusade," but he hopes the message is clear.

"I feel I have achieved everything I could ever possibly have hoped to achieve out of rugby, and I did it being gay," he said. "I want to send a positive message to other gay people that they can do it, too."

North America remains without any real equivalent to Thomas in competitive team sports. Male-dominated professional and senior-level amateur sports here continue to scrupulously follow an unwritten don't-ask-don't-tell policy on homosexuality, say experts.

"Sport is one of the last areas that really hasn't addressed or talked about (homosexuality)," said Dean Nelson, executive producer of Pride House, a pavilion planned for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics where gay athletes will be welcomed. "The sports culture itself really doesn't encourage people to be authentic."

Pride House, which will be located in Whistler, is the first effort of its kind in Olympic history, Nelson said, designed as a venue "to talk about homophobia within sport and bring that issue to the public's attention."

Only nine athletes in the 2008 Summer Olympics identified themselves as homosexual (none from Canada).

Nelson said his organization has approached a number of gay athletes to help promote the initiative, all of whom declined to go public with their sexuality.

"We know through our network quite a few gay athletes," he said. "But virtually no gay athletes are out. They say, `We love the concept, but we're not ready to be public about it.'"

[Saintsfan]

One of the reasons this is newsworthy is that Thomas is still an integral part of the Wales Rugby team. Yeah in some ways its brave of guys like John Amaechi to come out after they retire, to do so when you are still active and when you are still a star of your team, in the modern world takes some guts.

[infrared41]

Good for him.

[OnWis97]

One of the reasons this is newsworthy is that Thomas is still an integral part of the Wales Rugby team. Yeah in some ways its brave of guys like John Amaechi to come out after they retire, to do so when you are still active and when you are still a star of your team, in the modern world takes some guts.

That's true. It's a much bigger thing when one is still active. This will be a great thing over there.

Thinking ethnocentrically...

This won't have any positive impact in North America. We don't know this guy. We'll still need that NFL/NBA/MLB star to come out.

[JayJaxon]

I agree. When a big time player for one of out major sports leagues comes out, it will be a step towards making it more acceptable in America.

[Korbyn]

Maybe he will be traded to Stade Francais: