United Kingdom rugby legend Gareth Thomas, 35, came out Dec. 18 in an interview with the Daily Mail.
The move was particularly noteworthy because Thomas is not retired. He still plays for the Cardiff Blues.
“I was like a ticking bomb,” he told the Mail. “I thought I could suppress it, keep it locked away in some dark corner of myself, but I couldn’t. It was who I was and I just couldn’t ignore it anymore. … It’s been really tough for me hiding who I really am, but I don’t want it to be like that for the next young person who wants to play rugby, or some frightened young kid.”
Thomas said he didn’t come out publicly earlier “because I knew I would never be accepted as a gay man and still achieve what I wanted to achieve in the game.”
He married his high-school sweetheart, Jemma, in 2002 but the couple split in 2006 because of his gayness.
Thomas said he had been so depressed and despondent over living a double life that he repeatedly contemplated suicide.
“I used to go to the cliffs overlooking the beach near our cottage in St. Brides Major and just think about jumping off and ending it all,” he said.
Thomas told the Mail he doesn’t know of any other professional gay rugby players, but “statistically I can’t be the only one.”
The full, lengthy article is worth the read. See tinyurl.com/garethout.
By Rex Wockner
