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Keegan Hirst cheered as he plays first match since coming out

By Will Stroude

As Keegan Hirst took to the pitch yesterday (August 16), he became the first British rugby league player to do so as an out gay man.

The Batley Bulldogs captain was cheered as he led his team out at the Fox’s Biscuits Stadium in West Yorkshire ahead of a narrow loss to local rivals the Dewsbury Rams on Sunday afternoon, just hours after coming out publicly in an interview with The Mirror.

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In the moving interview, the married father of two revealed that he had decided to come out publicly after revealing the news to his estranged wife just a few weeks ago.

“I thought I’d be disowned by friends and family but I haven’t been,” he said. “The support from my teammates and other rugby league players has really surprised me, it’s all been positive.”

That support continued to roll in yesterday after the news broke, with Hirst’s fellow players rushing to congratulate the 27-year-old. Among the well-wishers was former Welsh international player Gareth Thomas, who came out himself back in 2009 and tweeted that he had offered him his support “days ago”.

Nigel Wood, the chief executive of the Rugby Football League, also congratulated Hirst on his historic announcement, but added that he didn’t feel it should even be an issue to comment on.

“Our sport prides itself on being open and accessible to all communities and I’m almost tempted to say that it’s not that remarkable,” he said. “I feel it’s hardly an issue worthy of comment because why shouldn’t a player come out and say that they’re gay?

“Particularly with a sport that is as expressive and tough as rugby league, I think there is a presupposition that would suppose that people who were gay would not be playing it, but that’s just not right.”

In his original interview, Hirst expressed his hope that being open about his own sexuality might make it easier for players to accept themselves in the future.

“People keep saying I’m brave,” he said. “I don’t feel brave. I’m just talking about me. There might be other players in the same position I was. If there are I’d tell them to just be honest with themselves.”

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