David Flatman Column: Rugby stars should not be scared of following Alfie’s lead

This column appears in the current edition of Sport magazine. , and

There have to be more gay rugby players out there. Not just rugby, but football, cricket - the lot. When Welsh rugby legend Gareth Thomas came out - confirming the worst-kept secret in sport - I expected more to follow suit.

I realise that probabilities mean little, but it does seem likely that more gay men are out there playing professional sport.

What makes me wonder is the agonising thought of what these guys must be going through every day they have to drive to training, hang with the lads and, ultimately, live a lie.

It’s also easy for me to say they should just tell the truth, because I’m not in their shoes. What I do feel comfortable saying, though, is I do not think there are many better environments in which to come out than the common or garden rugby club.

When Thomas told the world, I remember asking a mate who played with him at Cardiff about the reaction of the lads. Apart from the fact they all really knew already, he assured me they all loved him even more, that they would all stick up for him if he ever got grief from anyone, and that they’d had a proper chat and been told, by the man himself, that they were to treat him as they always had.

“As soon as he came into the showers on Monday, I threw a bar of soap on the floor next to him,” my buddy told me. “Am I safe to pick that up, Alfie boy?” he asked, as they all fell about laughing.

This may seem an unusual way to deal with something so significant but, as a wise coach once told me, it’s when the boys stop having fun with you that you have to worry.

Alfie will always be respected. I just hope that any blokes out there dealing with such pressure soon feel safe to be themselves.