English cricketer Steven Michael Davies
has announced he's gay.
The 24-year-old Davies became the first
professional cricketer – and one of only a handful of professional
athletes that have come out gay during their careers – to publicly
out himself.
Davies told UK paper the Daily
Telegraph on Sunday that he's “comfortable with who I am –
and happy to say who I am in public.”
“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,” he told the paper.
Davies said he has the complete support
of his family, who learned he was gay five years ago.
He said he's received nothing but
support from fellow team-mates.
Davies added that he was inspired to
come out by Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas, who
came out gay nearly two years ago.
“Gareth Thomas' story helped me,”
Davies said. “It just showed me it can be done. He was brave
enough to stand up and say who he was.”
“Steven Davies' case shows that more
sports people are finding they are accepted, especially within their
own teams,” Thomas wrote in an op-ed. “When you can be 100 per
cent honest with everyone, it makes you a better person, and a better
player.”