Former Black Cap and cricketing hero Heath Davis speaking about his experience as a gay athlete in retirement is both a positive sign of greater acceptance in the sport, but also a reminder of the need for more progress, says a Rainbow supporter.
However, others have pointed out that women’s sports have a history of inclusion, from which we can now learn.
Twenty-eight years after his Black Caps debut, Davis becomes the first male cricketer in New Zealand to openly talk about his sexuality.
Until now, there were no (openly) gay All Blacks or Black Caps and very few queer male athletes were known to the New Zealand public.
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Davis described his years of living separate lives as “lonely” and kept mostly to himself during his tour with the Black Caps. After years of talking about retirement, he grew out of a will to live as freely as anyone else, he said.
Craig Watson, founder of Proud to Play – a Rainbow sports and cultural event – and co-chair of Rainbow Wellington, said Davis’s voice could be seen as a sign that New Zealand is becoming a safer place for sports athletes to play. to get to the closet.
The fact that it was after his retirement, however, was the “little bit I fear,” he said.
“I think it’s still a problem.”
Gay men were still underrepresented in professional sports, Watson said, and it was important that current athletes feel comfortable and safe to be open about their sexuality.
Delivered
Proud to Play founder and co-chairman of Rainbow Wellington Craig Watson says the inability for gay men in sports to feel comfortable being open with their sexuality was an ongoing problem.
“On an estimate, we’d say there are a lot of these sports stars right now – professional athletes who are closeted and who are gay.
“Statistically, we know they are there.”
Watson said governing bodies played an important role in ensuring that people felt safe to express themselves from an early age and that those ideas should be introduced at school age. It would also ensure that young gay men continue to exercise, he said.
Stereotypes around men in sports, masculinity, strength and sexuality needed to be challenged, he said.
“You don’t have to lose your masculinity because you’re attracted to the same sex or the same sex.”
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From the Australian Prime Minister to a great gay rugby league, there has been a lot of backlash after a number of Manly players refused to wear a pride jersey.
Having current athletes who were open about their sexuality and could be a role model for younger generations in the sport was important, but just as much was the support needed to do this safely.
Sally Shaw, an associate professor of the School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Otago, said sport has traditionally been “not a very inclusive space for same-sex couples or non-heterosexual people.”
However, existing research suggested that sports for men were less inclusive than sports for women.
There were more overtly queer women in the sport and more visibility in the past, she said.
Judy O’Brien, culture, diversity and inclusion manager at Rugby in New Zealand, agreed, saying that women’s rugby has long been an inclusive space because of the work women had done in rugby to make the space more inclusive.
Delivered
Sally Shaw, an associate professor of the University of Otago’s School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Science, says that while sport has traditionally not been an inclusive space, women’s sport is more so than men’s.
“Women have had to challenge stereotypes about gender, culture, ethnicity and sexuality to make room for themselves and breaking those social and mental barriers is woven into the fabric of women’s rugby.
“There’s a lot we can learn from that history of inclusion.”
Shaw said sports governing bodies can play a vital role in ensuring that language becomes more inclusive and that non-heterosexual couples are visible and valued.
Davis’ sharing of his experience was another opportunity to remind people that sport was meant to be inclusive and to make people feel like part of a team.
the spin-off
Heath Davis described his years of living two different lives during his career as “lonely” and kept mostly to himself during his tour with the Black Caps.
“It’s supposed to be fun and if we’re doing things that make it unpleasant and exclusive, then we need to change what we’re doing,” Shaw said.
O’Brien said the process toward greater inclusivity and diversity in sport was a journey they were only in the early stages of.
However, working with the Rainbow community and raising awareness and visibility was part of building a strong foundation for the path forward.
Since joining the Pride Pledge, New Zealand Rugby began developing its Rainbow Rugby training tools, led by Rainbow representatives on the Inclusion Committee.
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Judy O’Brien, culture, diversity and inclusion manager at New Zealand Rugby, says there is much to learn from the history of inclusion in women’s sports.
In addition to the internal staff, it had been supplied to 21 professional rugby managers for personal development and 19 managers from the rugby academy.
“It’s great to see mahi being picked up in those spaces,” O’Brien said.
In the nine months that O’Brien was Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Manager, she had many people requesting access to learning resources, eager to share them in rugby clubs and provincial unions.