The rugby referee Nigel Owens revealed in a text to The Independent about what it's like to be an openly gay man within a predominantly heterosexual and sexist sport.
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He, who was the victim of homophobia from a player in the traditional Six Nations Tournament last week, declared that "it has been difficult being a gay judge". He came out in 2007.
In this case, the English player Edryl Hames, aged 18, made a homophobic post on social media about Nigel and the case became a police case. As punishment, he was told to make a public apology, claiming to be embarrassed.
Despite the difficulties, Nigel says that coming out as gay made him “reborn”. "I was accepted by 99% of the rugby world, but there is always that 1% who are against everything. The rugby world is very heterosexual, and that made things difficult. That doesn't mean the sport is homophobic. It's just that I don't I felt like I could be myself."
In the text, he says that he tried to be a player, but soon left for arbitration. He had a girlfriend at the age of 18 and it was only 17 years later – and a suicide attempt – that he decided to come out as gay.
When commenting on his relationship with the other straight players, he reveals an episode: "One player, Ryan Jones, said when I entered the locker room: 'Nigel, let me put my clothes on first'. My response was quick: 'That's it. It doesn't matter, you're ugly anyway'. We both laughed a lot. We can't lose our sense of humor and our ability to laugh at ourselves."
