The England wicketkeeper Steven Davies has announced he is gay Photo: MARTIN POPE

In a brave move, the handsome wicket keeper and star of England’s ashes winning national cricket team has publically come out.   His new revelation makes him the worlds first top flight openly gay cricketer.

He looks cool and collected but his mouth is dry and it’s obvious Steven Davies would rather be somewhere, anywhere, else.

Months of personal conflict have led to this moment, when England’s talented young wicketkeeper is ready to reveal what his colleagues have known, but kept secret, since the Ashes series began last year – he is homosexual, and has struggled for years to conceal it.

The 24-year-old Surrey player made the startling confession to his team-mates just before the tour to Australia, but they agreed to keep the story “in house” to protect him and so that it would not be a distraction.

In a remarkable piece of mentoring, Andrew Strauss, the England captain, and Andy Flower, the coach, undertook to ring every member of the team on Davies’s behalf. “It was a fantastic thing to do,” he says. “It was a massive relief, telling the lads. The difference is huge. I am so much happier.”

Now he admits that concealing his sexuality had become increasingly hard to bear, especially on tour when he would retreat to his hotel room because he felt so “out of the loop” when other players were exchanging banter.

Related Articles in the UK’s Telegraph news paper.

• England’s Steven Davies: I’m gay

• Can Davies change sport?

• Davies can play with freedom now

Today, through The Daily Telegraph, Davies is outing himself to the wider public. “It will be a huge relief to get this over, to be honest,” he confides.

“It’s something I’ve lived with for a long time. Although I feel it is the right time, I am nervous about coming out. Who wouldn’t be? It’s the biggest decision I’ve had to face, and by far the toughest – bigger even than facing Brett Lee [the fearsome Australian fast bowler] in the middle.”

Without the big gloves, he looks vulnerable and sounds taut as a wire. “If I am brutally honest, I never enjoyed touring because of my secret and having to conceal my sexuality,” he says. “My friendships with the guys would reach a certain level, then I’d have to take a step back.

“A two-week tour would feel like two years for me. It was really tough. Cricket was my escape. When I was playing cricket I was at my happiest because all I had to worry about was getting runs and taking the catches. It was a relief to be out in the middle.”

Being selected for the Ashes squad was not an uncomplicated pleasure: it thrilled him professionally, but he knew the social side of a three-and-a-half-month tour would be an ordeal. In dressing rooms, hotel rooms and coffee bars he felt uncomfortable and dreaded being asked even the most innocuous questions about his love life. “Sooner or later, the conversation would come round to whether I had a girlfriend. I was scared of that. I could never be totally relaxed.”

After weeks of angst, he confided in Flower at Loughborough, a few days before the team left for Australia. The coach was practical as well as understanding. They talked for an hour about the best way forward.

“He agreed I had to tell the boys. I couldn’t live like this any more.” Flower and Strauss refused to overplay the tension. “Their line was: ‘Steve wants you to know he’s gay. But it’s not an issue. Let’s just get on with it.’ I owe them both a lot. They were 100 per cent behind me and made me feel everything would be all right. In fact, I felt I was probably making a big deal out of it.”

Davies admits he was sick with nerves before the final batting session at Lord’s, where he faced some team-mates for the first time since the revelation. One by one, they came over to shake his hand and tell him that he had done the right thing.

Matt Prior, the wicketkeeper, Davies’s friend and rival, went out of his way. “He came up to me and gave me a hug and we spoke for about five minutes. He couldn’t believe I had kept it to myself for this long. He said I should have told him. That was special.”

During the Ashes, Hugh Morris, the managing director of England Cricket, told Davies that his homosexuality “would not be an issue” and supported his disclosure.

The effect on Davies was dramatic. “I enjoyed a three-and-a-half-month tour that would previously have killed me. Once the secret was out, those months just flew by. My friendships with the boys blossomed. It’s easier now I’ve got nothing to hide. I can get fully involved in all the banter, which I love. It took a few days to get back to normal. I cracked a joke about myself and after that everything was absolutely fine.”

Not quite, as it turned out. When Davies, reserve wicketkeeper during the Ashes but a top performer in the Twenty20 games, was dropped from the England squad for the current World Cup – in favour of Matt Prior – some cricket insiders suspected it was related to his coming out.

Davies admits he was “shocked and gutted” but does not believe the selectors’ decision had anything to do with his confession. “It was a bitter pill to swallow, I felt sick. But that suspicion never went through my head. Unfortunately for me, Andrew thought Matt would be more suitable.”

The left-handed wicketkeeper and batsman, who began his professional career playing for Worcester, is the first active international cricketer to admit he is homosexual.

The very few sportsmen who have “come out”, notably the rugby player Gareth Thomas, have usually done so at the end of their career. Davies should have his best cricketing years ahead of him.

In a world where it is easier to conform to the machismo of the group ethos than to stand out, his confession is impressive. Self-effacing, he does not see himself as a trailblazer for sport’s sexual tolerance. He had simply reached a point where evasion and dissembling were undermining his morale. “Everyone is different,” he says. “Some people are comfortable doing it [coming out]. Others are not. This is the right time for me. ‘Do I tell them or do I not?’ I didn’t want that to be my life. I feel it is right to be out in the open about my sexuality. If more people do it, the more acceptable it will become. That must be a good thing.”

Davies says he knew he was gay when he was very young “but it was never a big deal because all I’d do was play sport”. He did not tell his parents, Mike and Lin, or his elder sister, Gemma, 26, until he was 19. “The support they have given me has been brilliant. Not everyone is so lucky.”

His parents travelled from the family home in Kidderminster to be with him as he made his announcement. “We are proud of him,” they said, “and love him as a son, as a successful sportsman and now, hopefully, as a role model to any young person dealing with their sexuality.”

Davies knows he has other hurdles — not least the response of cricket fans. Can he take the possible homophobic jibes, the snideness? “Yes, I did worry about it. You go through every scenario. You lose sleep. But if there is anything negative, what can I do? In cricket, the fans are very loyal. They are there to support you, rather than abuse you.

“I have to play my best for Surrey and get back in the England side. I am still the same person. I want to be remembered as a good cricketer, not a gay cricketer.”

Sometimes, he is accused of not being vocal enough behind the wicket. He believes that the confidence he has gained in the past months may even benefit his game. Would he now like to find a partner he could be with openly? “That’s what everyone wants, isn’t it? That special person. I’m no different. I haven’t found that person, but there is no rush. I’m still young and concentrating on my career.”

* Steven has donated his fee for this interview to NSPCC’s ChildLine, the 24-hour helpline for children who have no one else to talk to. In the past two years, the charity has received more than 10,000 calls from children concerned about their sexuality. The number is 0800 1111. To email or talk to a counsellor online, contact www.childline.org.uk.

Congratulations, well done and thank you Steven,  coming out in top flight sport at the height of your popularity and fame in the world of cricket will have far reaching effects.  They may not be apparent yet,  it may take some time,  but you are paving the way for many others in cricket and world class professional sport in general, to be open about their sexuality.

Full report from - Telegraph

But who’s attending and who’s not?  According to a post on OUT, Fergie’s out and gay soccer player Gareth Thomas is in!

Check it out at: Out Popnography!

According to a post on Irish Central:

The Golden Globe winning actor, Mickey Rourke has spoken about his desire to portray Gareth Thomas on screen, who is considered to be the first openly gay active professional athlete.

More here!

According to a post on OutSports.com:

What’s remarkable about Burke is how out he was in the 1970s. Not in a “Hey world, I’m gay” way, but in the sense that his teammates knew as did the management of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Burke’s first team, and eventually fans who would taunt him from the outfield bleachers in Oakland by calling him a “fag.” A memorable moment in “Out” occurs when it is recalled that the Dodgers – trying to stifle rumors that a popular player was gay — offered Burke $75,000 to get married. His reply: “I guess you mean to a woman?”

Find out more here!

A video has emerged from the stands of the game on Thursday  where  North High School students can be heard chanting  ”powder blue, faggots”  during the pregame moments.

South High School football players wear light blue uniforms.   ”I was disgusted and I couldn’t believe students were yelling that,” said Heather Ike to local media, who actually captured the chanting on video,   Heather herself graduated from North High School in 1999.

“It is completely unacceptable and we will look at the video and see if we can identify students and they could be suspended,” said Willoughby-Eastlake Superintendent Keith Miller.   He also said that the North High School  principal was at the game,   heard the chants  and actually  intervened,  however this was not captured  on video.  According to  local reports,  these types of chants are common place,  they’ve  been going on for years, by both schools.

“This is not okay and we will address it,” said Miller.

Jason Shaw

Jason  writes the popular life blog  The Seafront Diary

According to Ramon Johnson’s About.com Gay Life:

Pro athletes have much to lose—fans, endorsements, contracts, a career—yet these things are no different than the sacrifice Jackie Robinson made in the late ’40s. “If Jackie Robinson can integrate baseball in 1947,” ESPN columnist LX Granderson asked, “then what on Earth is stopping gay athletes from saying ‘Yes, I am’?” Granderson’s query was made back in 2006 and little has changed. Actually, the question continues to linger around professional sports like a scent that’s present, but no one wants to recognize.

More here!

According to Ace Showbiz:

Mickey Rourke is in talks to put on his rugby boots and tackle a new movie role based on the true story of a homosexual sports ace. The “Wrestler” actor met up with British rugby star Gareth Thomas last week to discuss a proposal to bring the sportsman’s tale to the big screen.

I haven’t discussed it — not because I’m ashamed of anything you’ll read about when my book comes out — I just don’t want to put it out there in a way where someone can twist my words. While I don’t believe in masculinity and femininity, I don’t believe in a purely gay person or a purely straight person. I have a very clear opinion of my own sexuality. I’m not saying anything about my sexuality because I want it to be out there in my own words.

More from Johnny Weir at: Out.com!

For many athletes coming out is difficult, there is fear of repercussions within the sports community and the very real possibility that being out will affect their careers.

Find out what one group is doing about it at: Xtra.ca!

The best way to think about it is as a pyramid with all the leagues feeding into each other up to the premier league. At the end of each season the top three teams go into the league above while the bottom three teams are replaced by the top three teams from the league below. This means that any team could technically move up to the premier league if they kept climbing up and winning the leagues they were in. There are certain requirements as well though such as stadium capacity etc..

Want to know more about the life of a closeted Semi-pro soccer player? Then head over to ONE IN ELEVEN, to get a gay footballers thoughts and feelings exposed!