ENGLAND – 1994: Ian Roberts of the Kangaroos poses for a photo during the Australian Kangaroos Rugby League photocall for the upcoming tour of Great Britain held in England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Ian Roberts has been vocal this week following the decision from seven Manly Sea Eagles players to withdraw from this week’s game after learning the club would don a pride jersey for the clash.
Roberts is the first and last openly gay male player that Australian rugby league has seen, using his platform to speak of his passion and disappointment through the saga, as well as what the former Sea Eagle has endured for simply being himself.
Sitting down to write his own piece for The Sydney Morning Herald on the matter, Roberts had three key thoughts arise throughout the fiasco.
“First, and I repeat: we were born gay. We had no choice in the matter. It is your right to pursue whatever faith you like. But if your belief is that we have made the wrong choices in life, because we chose to be gay, then you are simply wrong. There was no choice. We are gay,” Roberts wrote.
“The second thing is this, and you need to understand it: Teenagers are dying. Kids are killing themselves in the suburbs. They are taking their lives because they think the world hates them for being gay. Episodes like this don’t help. Do you get that? I implore you to reconsider your position on this. It makes an enormous difference to them.
“Thirdly, this is about simple respect. You live lives where you are respected in many ways for the fine football you play. Can you not understand the pain visited upon gay people who, no matter what they do, are disrespected simply for being gay? The simple fact is, your actions have added to that disrespect. We want, and deserve, the same respect we extend to you.”
Roberts came out during his final season at Manly, and the community rallied around him. The NRL Footy Show’s Paul Vautin, Peter Sterling and Steve ‘Blocker’ Roach featured in an anti-homophobia poster campaign shortly after.
If the community could rally around it in the mid-90s, then why can’t they do the same nearly three decades later?
One of the most poignant lines from Roberts reads from his first factor, ‘we were born gay’, a scattering of small words so integral to the cause, reaffirming to the doubters that sexuality isn’t a choice.
Roberts has offered up his time to anyone that wants to discuss the matter with him, and driving home the point that communication and open discussions are the key to progressing society’s mindset and expanding the mindset of those still living in a shoebox.
Source:: ZeroTackle
