English Cricketer, Steven Davies, Comes Out
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Sunday, February 27, 2011
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The England wicketkeeper Steven Davies has announced he is gay - becoming the first serving professional cricketer to publicly out himself. The 24-year-old Surrey player said he had decided to make the announcement after months of personal conflict. In a frank and moving interview with Monday's Daily Telegraph, Davies, who started his professional cricketing career with Worcestershire when he was 18, said he could no longer bear to lie about his sexuality. Davies, who told his family he was gay five years ago and has enjoyed their complete support, said it was a huge relief to finally come clean and be honest with the wider public.
"I am comfortable with who I am - and happy to say who I am in public," Davies said. And he said he hoped his decision would help other young gay people to have the confidence to follow in his footsteps. He explained: "This is the right time for me ... 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. To speak out is a massive relief for me, but if I can just help one person to deal with their sexuality then that's all I care about."
A former England under 19-captain, Davies, who made his international debut in 2009 during the Twenty20 in Trinidad, is widely tipped as a future star of the game. But he admitted hiding his sexuality has affected his relationships in the dressing room. He said he dreaded long international tours because he was forced to conceal an important part of his life from his team-mates. Davies decided to confide in his English colleagues after being called up for the recent Ashes tour to Australia. He said he received wonderful support from his team-mates, especially fellow wicketkeeper Matt Prior and captain, Andrew Strauss, and now looks forward to getting on with, what he hopes will be, a long and successful career at the highest level. Davies decision to go public at such an early stage in his professional life, is seen as hugely significant in breaking down taboos surrounding homosexuality in professional sport.
Source: The Telegraph
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