Gareth Thomas ... The Only Openly Gay Male Athlete

Dan82 · May 1, 2010

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1168953/1/index.htm

He's 6'3" and 225 pounds of muscle. He's broken his nose five times, fractured both shoulders and lost eight teeth. He's drunk his mates under the table and brawled by their side. He's been named to the Welsh national rugby team more times than any other man. And, among active players in major professional team sports, he's ...

Wot, butt? You come to this tiny village in this tiny country and tell me that I'm the only gay man in a major team sport who's out of the closet?

The man was missing eight teeth. Sometimes he would slip out his false teeth when you weren't looking and deposit them in your pint of ale.

All the diversity in America, and no one there has done this?

His blue eyes twinkled and his laughter was infectious and his body was a riot of muscles and he'd been known, if he suspected someone in the pub was talking about him, to rise from his table and drop him.

America's the pioneer, butt! Am I right?

He plays professional rugby. No, he has dominated it, been selected to play for his national team more times than anyone else in his country's history.

America's at the top of the table in everything! So why...?

His sport has broken his nose five times, fractured both of his shoulders and his hip and his forearm and his palate and his thumb, and concussed him, on average, three times a year.

A rugby team ... in Wales. A country of coal miners. I thought THAT would be the harshest environment for a man to come out in, but no....
Click to expand...

paint · May 2, 2010

Pardon me, but all of that didn't really register. They were just increasing rep i think...but did they just call us a nation of coal miners?

Connor22 · May 2, 2010

^ yes

Tim · May 3, 2010

And um, I must be misreading something - he's far from the only openly gay male athlete

Gareth Thomas ... The Only Openly Gay Male Athlete

Dan82
Full Member

paint
Full Member

Connor22
Full Member

Tim
Full Member

Gareth Thomas ... The Only Openly Gay Male Athlete

Thread Tools

Dan82 Full Member

paint Full Member

Connor22 Full Member

Tim Full Member

Dan82
Full Member

paint
Full Member

Connor22
Full Member

Tim
Full Member