Controversy continues over the now-deleted Twitter account of an anonymous British footballer who was set to come out several weeks ago. Now out-gay rugby player Gareth Thomas has says the two have had contact.
Thomas, the star of the upcoming documentary Gareth Thomas v Homophobia: The Legacy about his own battles with homophobia in pro sports, confirmed to The Daily Star that he had spoken with the player on the phone, which seems to confirm that the Twitter account was not a hoax as some have speculated.
Related: So about that ‘anonymous footballer’ coming out on Twitter…
“Away from the cameras,” Thomas says, “I reached out to him and offered him my support and gave him my number and he called me. I never asked him his name but he told me the club he played for. He is a young kid who had an understanding of who he was but didn’t have an understanding of where he fitted in.”
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Thomas also confirms that the player deleted the Twitter account after becoming overcome by fear. “There is vitriol towards him because he has decided that he is not ready for it,” Thomas says. “But it is his decision to make.”
The anonymous Twitter account first appeared earlier this year and posted periodic updates saying he would reveal his identity July 24. Instead, the user deleted the account after posting “I thought I was strong enough. I’m not.”
Gareth Thomas knows a thing or two about homophobia in the world of sports. He came out in 2009: the first-ever pro-rugby player to do so.
truckproductions
heartbreaking that he feels that he can’t safely come out. but seeing the reactions by soccer clubs and fans in bigoted countries like russia and poland I’m not surprised. It’s becoming ever more dangerous to be out.
ConnorBryant1658
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Donston
I mean, there are reasons not a single guy has let the public know he’s homosexual/gay/into dudes/is in a gay relationship while playing in the NFL/MLB/NHL, professional tennis, upper tier soccer. (Though yes, there was that one borderline irrelevant guy who came out while being in the NBA. But he only really did so because his career was about the end, because his ex wife was gonna out him and to sell a book). The homophobia, the anti-gay culture, the toxic masculinity and bro culture, the “keep it in the bedroom” mentality, the “a real man has to hook up with women and be with a woman” mentality are all legit in the world of sports. So, I completely understand keeping shit to yourself. The issue I have was him hyping up and counting down his “coming out”. Even if this person and his circumstance/struggles are real, that was still a tasteless and sensationalistic approach.
Kangol2
By “borderline irrelevant guy who came out while being in the NBA,” do you mean Jason Collins? Who was not “borderline irrelevant,” nor married to a woman? He had a 13-year career, including leading in several categories (minutes played, field goal percentage and 3-point percentage at various times), was a free agent, then played in the NBA for a short period after coming out. He was in an 8-year relationship with a woman but they never married. He’s the first and only active NBA player to come out. Is that who you mean?
Donston
Yes, it’s who I mean. His ex-wife/ex-gf was apparently threatening to out him, and he was prepping a book before he officially came out. And yeah, at his peak he was a mid-level player at best. By the time he came out he was indeed irrelevant in the NBA and actually semi benefited from coming out at a very late stage in his career, since it put pressure on the NBA to keep him employed. I don’t mean to come off like a hater. But looking back, his outing comes off more contrived than it initially did. And it of course didn’t make much of an impact in the world of sports. Not that being out should be about impact.
Birdbrain1963
I’m not a celebrity or anything special. I’m out. I still have fear about many things in my life, but I’m one of the gays that nobody would care about if I were to be killed by some homophobe…
rodzilla
‘ but I’m one of the gays that nobody would care about if I were to be killed by some homophobe…’
Hey BB’63, hopefully u will never have to find out if that’s true. In the meantime, stay strong, become your best self then help others to do the same. i’m rootin’ for ya!