Welsh Rugger Gareth Thomas Comes Out

An undisputed star player. 

In a wide ranging interview with London’s Daily Mail, Cardiff Blues rugby star Gareth Thomas has come out as gay. The former British Lions captain says that while he struggled with his sexuality for 20 years, he’s comfortably out now.

I don't want to be known as a gay rugby player. I am a rugby player first and foremost. I am a man. I just happen to be gay. It's irrelevant. What I choose to do when I close the door at home has nothing to do with what I have achieved in rugby.

Captain of the Lions, he also led the Wales to a grand slam victory in 2005, their first in 17 years. But just a year later, the pressures of his marriage to his teenage sweetheart while living a double life took its toll on him, and Gareth came out to his wife. Shortly after they split.

The end of his marriage led to a locker room breakdown with a coach in November 2006. The coach, Scott Thompson, pulled Thomas aside and got two of his teammates to go meet him at a bar. The handpicked mates, Stephen Jones and Martyn Williams, were instantly accepting, their only concern being why he hadn’t told them sooner. Indeed, Gareth said his friends and teammates circled the wagons and made him feels safe and protected.

Being part of a team, on and off the field, gave Gareth strength.

While his divorce will soon be final, Thomas says he and his wife are on good terms. He’s now single and happy to be able to openly date instead of sneaking around.

Always a big supporter of ChildLine, a suicide prevention line, Thomas says he wants to be an example to youth.

I'm not going on a crusade, but I'm proud of who I am. I feel I have achieved everything I could ever possibly have hoped to achieve out of rugby, and I did it being gay.

None of his teammates ever questioned his sexuality while he was in the closet, and he was adept at playing the virile heterosexual sports star, flirting with girls and telling stories of bedroom conquests. 

6'3" tall and 224 lbs of pure muscle, Gareth is the picture perfect athlete.

While Thomas is retired from international rugby, he intends to keep playing with Cardiff Blues as long as he remains competitive. He joins Irish hurler Dónal Óg Cusack as the second out professional athlete in active team sports this year.

No doubt he won’t be the last.

You can find the entire Daily Mail interview with Thomas here.  If you'd like to see more photos of the man — both on and off the field — check out our extended Gareth Thomas photo gallery.