Gay cricketer Steve Davies's coming out reflects changing attitudes in modern professional sport

Source: Supplied / News Limited

 Steve Davies
When England wicketkeeper
 used the internet to publicly 
announce he was a homosexual 
this week, he joined a growing 
list of openly gay athletes who have 
slowly changed attitudes in 
professional sport.

Truth is in the 21st century, not only
are announcements such
as Davies's unlikely to bring
any ill-feeling from the wider sporting community, they
are just as commonly embraced by
both gay and non-gay citizens as a symbol
of sexual equality.

However, it's been a slow journey for society to move to a point where gay sporting icons like former Wales international Gareth Thomas are the inspiration for movies and Australian swimming icon, Stephanie Rice, is forced to make a public apology for using the word "faggot" on Twitter.

Former American footballer David Pokay is regarded as one of the first professional athletes to confirm his homosexuality, having made the announcement in 1975 - three years after retiring from the NFL in 1972.

It was reported that Kopay - who addressed the issue in his controversial 1977 autobiography, The David Kopay Story - was allegedly denied positions as a professional and college football coach due to his sexual orientation.

Tennis great Martina Navratilova is another player who is likely to have received greater endorsement as a lesbian player in the modern era of professional sport.

After announcing she was gay in 1981, a disappointed Navratilova spoke of an article that said she would "pick my doubles partner so I could look at her bum".

But demeaning remarks such as these have continued to diminish by the years, not least within the Australian sporting community.

Perhaps the watershed moment for gay equality in Australian sport came in 1995, when Ian Roberts became the first professional rugby league player to announce his homosexuality. The former Kangaroos forward was still playing at the time.

While Kopay and Navratilova are considered by many to have suffered professionally for their public revelations, Roberts has since become an Australian sporting icon.

When Roberts came out, it was such huge news that NRL Footy Show panellists Paul Vautin, Peter Sterling and Steve Roach were moved to appear in a poster campaign against homophobia.

And it worked - more recently, golfer Karrie Webb and former Olympic swimmer Daniel Kowalski are examples of gay Australian athletes who raised little attention in comparison to their predecessors.

This comments were made by 

• By Christopher Boyd
• FOX SPORTS            Edited by adamfoxie*
  *