THE INDEPENDENT: Sport and stage stars turn out to show solidarity with Wales's 'role model' player
For one of the rugby world's more eloquent stars, the speech was surprisingly brief – but then Gareth Thomas has done a lot of talking in recent weeks. Just before Christmas he did the unthinkable and became the first professional player in Britain to admit he is gay. Last night was his chance to celebrate the announcement.
"Everybody here tonight is celebrating that the world is changing," he said. "We are here to send the message that it's OK to be a sportsman and it is also OK to be gay."
The venue was Movida, a glitzy London club with a bright pink bar and equally garish cocktails – not a very likely hangout for burly rugby players. But this was no post-match celebration, rather an opportunity to tell the world that the sport was longer a place in which gay players had to hide their sexuality. Last night, the former Welsh captain's friends and supporters joined Britain's gay glitterati for Thomas's official "coming out" party – a remarkable display of solidarity that many hope will signal the beginning of the end of homophobia in sport. >>> Jerome Taylor | Friday, January 29, 2010
