Gareth Thomas is the only openly gay professional athlete in the world, and today he visited Ellen and shared what it's been like -- and the support he's received from some surprising sources.
Alfie....Gareth Thomas, has inspired so many people..he does a BBC Wales program where he inspires, helps, entices and supports people to better themsleves though running..My Daughter just ran a 1/2 marathon thanks to ALFIES ARMY... she has thrived and continues to.... Thank you Gareth, you dont realise how much you have helped and given to our family xx
Ellen mentions that it must be hard to come out in macho sport , but it has to be one of the most gay friendly sports in the world and gearth was brave to come out but as a rugby fan it is not even an issue , he still is one the best players in rugby.
This guy was my hero growing up. I remember at the end of a Blues game I ran onto the pitch to find him just to give him a high five when I was little. I didn't want to wash my hand for ages hahaha
I am amazed by all this sympathy, I live in a small town in the south of England with my boyfriend we are just about tolerated here for 40 years, when we go to the country where we have a cottage we are treated like a side-show.
This makes more sense, thank you for clarifying. ^_^ In all honesty, I think thats /why/ he waited until he was famous. Because now his team will stick up for him.
I totally just cried because this is so amazingly touching!!! More than anything, how wonderful that not only his family but his teammates are so supportive! Amazing.
Well done Gareth! A fantastic ambassador for welsh rugby and an excellent role model for young and old. I wish you every success for the future - Sarah Tilley x
Gareth Thomas, you're an inspiration. Not just for gay men or women but for helping the world get over its hang-ups. We spend far too much time concentrating on who Gareth / people finds attractive over what those people value - surely a far great barometer!!! Drive on Gareth. You were a stellar sportsman and a stellar gent! Big respect!
I'm a straight person and I have no problem with people who are Gay. Everyone deserves the right to love who they want to love. Life is too short for this. I think this quote best describes what people with negative feelings towards being gay should do: "Spend your time figuring out what you're for, in a world obsessed with what they're against,"
I am so proud that a rugby player from Wales is the only openly gay athlete in the world, very inspring, makes me proud to be from Wales! Such a lovely guy.
I just hope that this story will start a movement in the world that is so powerful in inspiring the young children of this world that it is ok to be Gay, and to not be ashamed of who they are and that they can do anything they want, including sports. I think this story is just what the Sports world needs right now......for people to feel like you don't have to be a certain way just to play sports, you can just be you and that is ok!
He's amazing, i remember seeing a big poster of him in the changing rooms at P.E in school when i was in the closet i bet when gay kids who are in that school now look at the poster they will feel proud and have hope ! :D this is great and its sooo weird hearing his welsh accent next to ellens american one! haha not many welsh people on american tv sadly
@frontierdarren Exactly right, as opposed to football, rugby is not hyped up in the media in that sense of the players public lives as football is. Most people I know were more gutted when Alfie moved to Cardiff Blues than him coming out.
I really admire Ellen for the job she does, trying to open people's minds. I also admire Mr Thomas for coming out since it is particularly difficult in professional sports. You can lose your sponsors, get the hell from your team mates or your team's supporters -- soccer is a good example in that respect where you can still hear officials state (as in Italy with Marcello Lippi), or former players imply (France, David Ginola, 2005), that you can't be gay and a professional player. Why? Well,
There was a great i'view with Gareth on HBO's Real Sports. I am so proud of him, and of course he made mistakes, but his decision to live openly has and will continue to have a positive impact on those who struggle with their sexuality....as well as further break down stereotypes of what it means to be gay And for those who have pointed it out already, Gareth is not the only openly gay athlete in the world. But he is the only openly gay male athlete actively playing on a professional team.
... don't get me wrong. It's great for him that he's now able to live his life openly and has accepted himself; but I can't get passed 'good for him' to seeing him as an individual of note to be applauded and praised.
Not always, not in a team. When I came out to my team (we're a nerd team, totally different thing but same team spirit) they all accepted me for who I was and we became stronger because none of us were hiding anything. It's truly amazing that his team accepts him for who he is.
I honestly couldn't care the sexuality of alfie! It does not matter what sex he is into, the guy, for welsh rugby, which i am a huge fan, has done no end! not many people would manage to have the respect from team members, and i mean big team members who were hitting the headlines, like this man did! one of the all time welsh greats,gay or not! and at international level, even if he did fancy the opposite number,he still run through them first and score the points,and celebrate with the head pat
@Y2Krashman sorry but i did nt understand the context u wer putting it in when i hear mithochondria i automatically think of the human cell and respiration ..... but anyway just watched some of ur videos and respect u 4 wat ur doin
I have no problem with gay people. I support them greatly and I have no clue why people have a problem with gays. My idol, the person I look up too, is bisexual. Sometimes when I tell people this they give me a strange stare and say "how"? And i say that it doesn't matter what type of sex they prefer, whether male or felmale, it's about their personality.
I'm also gay and I have not told anyone about it and I don't find meaning in life because I'm leaving a lie. I've planed and tried to commit suicide so many times. I don't know what to do.
My grandma tends to criticize people that aren't straight a lot. She even criticizes me and argues with me that China is a communist county and it's not. She is basicaly calling my boyfriend a communist. She talks about how christians should be nice and accept others yet she does nothing along the lines of that. People like to be themselve, what is so wrong with that?! They feel right this way and there is nothing anyone can do. It's what they want to be that counts.
there are dozens of sports stars who came out as gat going back to billie jean and many more. it is a great thing that gay people are not castigated. but I would add the new victims of abuse and castigation are the old and of course the disabled. these vulnerable peoples lives are as hard as always. heck you cant even get a wheelchair into most Churches still. how many disabled people are on tv really or in movies? its pathetic. the way old people are treated is 10 times worse than prisoners
@shaldana Sir! I have nothing against gays or straights or bisexuals i simpley want to see the reaction people gave after such a comment! It really doesn't have any affect at all on me. I have a couple friend that are bisexual and gay infact! Shure the world has many perfection and imperfections but being gay deffently isnt a imperfection. People need to start worrying about the things that really affect the world in a negative way instead of bashing gays and wasteing time but i was bored! :) :0
sex is easy but sexuality has been always been very complex; people are not black and white, there are many grey areas in the adult world, we all have multiple personalities and are capable of almost anything.And people change ,too,we never stay the same.This is the truth about being human.
@LedSexton He may be gay, but if you have followed his rugby career you would know he could beat the shit out of you. Making him gay doesn'y automatically mean he is bad at what he does.
Gays come in all shades. I'm fed up with the pressure coming from both outside and within the "gay community" that you have to be a "good" gay (aka straight-acting, playing by heteronormative rules) to be accepted and that it is the "sissies' fault" if we are still facing rejection.
Well, he's not the first... Australian Rugby player Ian Roberts came out in 1995 while still playing. Also, Australian diver Matthew Mitcham is openly gay - the only openly gay athlete at the 2008 games. And she should all that, given her wife is Australian.
Isn't it awful that we live in a world where Ellen has to mention how difficult it was for him to publicly admit his orientation. Damn the pathetic homophobia in this world!!!
When Gt came out - pretty much everyone knew on the Wales team and tbf nearly everyone in the wider public who were into rugby. I presumed the worst - nobody gave a toss, he's Alfie and was a brilliant player. Rough on his misses - It's more worrying , as Tom Daley said that a shit load load of countries taking part in the commonwealth games, which ended a few days ago still have barbaric punishment for being 'in the gays'.
It's always sad when people bully others. Trouble is, gays shouldn't throw stones in glass houses. They are malignant narcissists who want the world to fit itself around a pathology. You're gay/homosexual because you've been 'nonced' and emotionally abused as a child. Many of us have been a bit sexually abused, but we're not nearly as gay.
What strenght one must have to come out in such a masculine and straight driven world he was in! Although this was never my world ( I discovered that I was gay at the age of 12 and was happy with it), I still can relate to his story! My ex-boyfriend was married before me and has 3 kids....He never had the guts to come out, because society pressed on him to be straight! I'm ever so happy he did and all the way into our relationship I was totally accepted by his family...I still am. So: GO Gareth!
@0kiccc0 oh okay. I wasn't paying attention to that. So he's only the 2nd athlete, still playing anyway. There are probably so many gay athletes that want to confess to him because they need someone to talk to. It's sad how they all feel they have to hide. Pretending to be 2 different people is depressing. :( Hollywood is the same.
Yeah, a true 'hero'. So what is the difference between a man who leaves his wife for another woman and a man who leaves his wife because he's been sleeping around with other men? Oh, there is a difference. Don't question it.
Looking macho or effeminate says nothing about one's strength, courage or worth. What also irritates me is that this prejudice furthers the idea that there's something intrinsically wrong and/or weak (your pick) about femininity. Although gays should know better, too many of them are not immune to sexism -- which is a shame.
@Mr0oooo0 I Am Not Gay At All. I Just Find It Stupid On Why People Don't Like Gays I Am They ARE HUMAN BEINGS. They Live And Breathe The Same Air We Do. Love Is Love.
if you think about it, its fucking disgusting how, in present day, people feel the need to hold back on orientation. this is one of the many reasons why i get frurious whenever i hear someone who is against gay rights. all of them have been religious too
