No.

I highly doubt he "decided" he was gay. Rather, I understand that he felt he had to repress our outright deny that part of his identity because of his sport and the machismo expectations placed on him. It will have been upsetting for him and his family when he came out, but it was also a huge step for him, and for gay men and women in sport.

If it helps, his ex-wife is now proud of what he's done and he's an excellent ambassador for LGBT rights. And being gay won't stop him from loving his kids either.

The thing that's morally wrong is that professional athletes feel they can't be themselves for fear of abuse or ruining their careers. See Justin Fashanu. Thankfully, society is making better progress now, even if there's still some way to go.

Looking forward to seeing Hirst in a Wakefield shirt and I hope it helps to promote RL as an inclusive game, and that there won't be idiots in the stands spouting bile.

Furthermore, Hirst going to the press, telling his story and revealling what he's put his family through may convince other player's (and people in general) to actually come out and not live a lie in fear of abuse and non acceptance. That way then don't cause the hurt he did.

People get married, have kids, then change with age, for whatever reason, even sexuality. It's life, get on with it. He and his family and ex wife seem to be.

I'm sure I read somewhere that the media contacted him in the first instance, as they'd been tipped off and were about to break the story - so he made a decision to control the narrative so it didn't become salacious.

I would imagine that his motivation was based on a desire to protect his family, and to help other LGBT people who might be in a similar predicament; it's hard enough for a young person to be open about their sexuality if it's anything other than hetero, let alone in the macho world of rugby league, so fair play to him. Some people are like that Vasty - they actually give a $h1t about things. And given that his wife is very supportive and he still has a relationship with his kids, it would appear that the personal aspects have all been handled very well - such that it's actually nobody else's business.

As it stands now, he's an out and open gay RL player who plays for WT; and as the evidence of this week has shown, small-minded people will take pot-shots, disguised as 'banter,' 'jokes' or 'just their opinion' - and then be outraged about the PC world gone mad when they are taken to task or modded for their offensive comments.

Again - we stray way off topic and 'unsavoury' comments pop up.

Is this going to be a constant theme re: Keegan?

Sigh.

So, I want to be fair on this subject so discussion is ok but this thread has again gone from a discussion about leadership and presentation skills in the media to issues on morals.
No one is banned, but let's just assume none of us know what this particular player does in his private life, or why he chose to public discuss his lifestyle choices.

The point was raised in the thread to say...paraphrased... 'would it be a discussion point in a same sex relationship'? That's where it crosses the line.
Time has moved on. I realise it's a hard subject and media make it worse by jumping on either the political correctness or the homophobe name calling trend but we all have to contend with that.

Let's just stick to the rugby and leave those free speech discussions for elsewhere please.