Tag: Gareth Thomas

Just a bit from Gareth Thomas’ interview in The Observer:

• My fear of coming out wasn’t about rejection. I was scared people would say: “Why were you lying to me? If you’ve been lying about that what else are you lying about?” Lying is my biggest regret.

• My sport was my comfort. The routine, the camaraderie, the team… everyone’s around you. After rugby you’re on your own. Every day was the same, but now it’s different and that’s really scary. I had to change my mindset, stop fearing what I didn’t know.

• People say getting fit is 90% diet and 10% exercise, but that’s bollocks. If you train hard you earn the right to a chocolate bar.

• Other sportsmen have confided in me that they’re gay. The advice I give is that coming out is great for you as a person, but that you also have to remember you’re a role model. As a sportsman you take the money and the glory, but you also take the responsibility that comes with it and make sure the stories that follow are positive.

• Neither my ex-wife nor I regret getting married. There was so much good in the seven years we spent together. The regret for me is the hurt I caused not just her but my parents, too.

• Am I British? No way. I’m as Welsh as you can get.

Don’t forget that Gareth Thomas – The REAL Celebrity Fitness DVD is on sale now from gareththomasfitness.co.uk and selected Tesco stores. Part of the profits from sale will go to the Life Music Foundation (lifemusicfoundation.org)

(via The Observer)

Gareth Thomas

Footballer Lee Steele has been fined by the Football Association for posting a homophobic remark on Twitter about the Rugby player Gareth Thomas.

Steele wrote on Twitter in January ”I wouldn’t fancy the bed next to Gareth Thomas #padlockeda**ehole’. The footballer was referring to openly gay Gareth Thomas and his participation in Channel Five’s Celebrity Big Brother.

I’m not quite sure what Mr. Steele’s issue was since he wasn’t in the Big Brother house, and therefore not likely to come across Gareth Thomas naked.

Following Steele’s comments on Twitter the footballer was released from his contract with Oxford City with the club releasing a statement saying ‘The Oxford City board have decided to release Lee Steele in view of his recent comment via social media which is considered seriously contrary to the ethos of the club.’

Steele later apologised for his comment on Twitter but was charged by the FA who have now found him to be in breach of Rule E3 (1) which reads ‘A Participant shall at all times act in the best interests of the game and shall not act in any manner which is improper or brings the game into disrepute or use any one, or a combination of, violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour.’

The FA have fined Steele £200 and ‘severely warned’ him about his future conduct.

Welsh rugby favourite Gareth Thomas is capturing the hearts and minds of the television viewing public as well – as he emerges as odds-on favourite to win Celebrity Big Brother. Thomas earned the respect of the world by coming out as gay in 2009.

Former Wales captain Thomas, known affectionately as Alfie, showed his softer side this weekend when he broke down in tears in the house diary room – after receiving a letter from his mother.

And it seems the emergence of the rugby beefcake’s softer side has won an army of new fans – with PR experts yesterday saying that it could be the start of a new chapter in the Bridgend-born star’s career.

Publicist Max Clifford said that Alfie’s appearance on the show provided him with a golden opportunity to make a name for himself outside the rugby world.

“What it does is give him a window to broaden the awareness of himself,” he said.

“A show like this gets everybody connected with him, they know him. The way that he came out took a lot of courage and gained him a lot of respect, and you can see people think he is popular.”

Gareth Thomas, retired gay rugby icon, will appear on the Channel 5 reality show Big Brother which starts tonight.

Mr Thomas, 37, who had been married to his teenage sweetheart Jemma, announced he was gay in December 2009, breaking one of the major taboos in sport.

He told the Daily Mail: ‘Just because you are gay, it doesn’t mean you fancy every man who walks the planet.

‘I don’t want to be known as a gay rugby player. I am a rugby player first and foremost. I am a man.’

click to see larger version

Openly gay Gay Welsh rugby icon Gareth Thomas tweeted this picture along with the following: “Boom boom boom. I’m back in the room. been a busy bee. check out this photo I did for American magazine;)”

According to AfterElton, he almost instantly got some ribbing from his former teammate and occasional model Nick Youngquest, who told him he just wasn’t ripped enough to model.

I think he looks perfectly fine…