‘THE utopian version of events would be sexual orientation is so accepted that we can participate in sport without any concern, but it’s not quite there yet.”
So says Frankie Miller, a gay rugby player and a member of Glasgow Raptors RFC, based just west of the city in Clydebank.
They are Glasgow’s only LGBTQ+ rugby team with players of all persuasions including those who are trans, non-binary and homosexual supported to take part in a sport so often associated with toxic masculinity.
The Raptors stand for inclusivity – with heterosexual players also involved – and even rebranded a few years back from their original name of the Glasgow Alphas as members were keen to get rid of any potentially non-progressive connotations that may have.
Miller, 38, who joined the club in 2018, feels it’s important to show people can play rugby without having to conform to the macho, laddish culture with which it has historically been linked.
“It’s so good to be able to have such diversity within the team and the more people are aware of the different persuasions of people involved, the better, because it shows we’re not the stereotypical rugby team that people would imagine,” he said.
“People think of rugby as very sort of toxic masculine. I think that the sport requires, of course, a bit of aggression because that’s the nature of it, but it’s really good to know that in amongst that there’s so much difference [among players].”
But the real dream for Miller would be living in a world which almost didn’t need to have so-called “inclusive” teams targeted specifically at certain groups or cultures.
Many high-profile people within rugby have found the courage to come out publicly over the years, most notably the likes of ex-Wales international Gareth Thomas and former referee Nigel Owens.
And in recent weeks, we’ve seen the likes of Blackpool FC player Jake Daniels and Scottish referees Craig Napier and Lloyd Wilson reveal their homosexuality in the hope it will give others struggling to come out the confidence to do so.
Miller, who came out in 2001, well before he played rugby, said these have been “watershed” moments in sport that have changed people’s perceptions of what it means to be an athlete.
BUT instead of the significance of these profound moments disappearing with the passage of time, Miller hopes they will eventually lead to a complete transformation of sport where every club, team and environment is inclusive.
He said: “I think the stories of pro athletes that have come out within regular sports teams – these are watershed moments that provide so much courage for that person who is in the closet to be able to go through that process of coming out if they wish.
“Going forward, the utopian version of events would be, in decades to come, sexual orientation would be so accepted that people can be authentically themselves in any environment and we can participate [in sport] without any concern. I think
currently it’s not quite there and I think the need for these [inclusive] clubs is to provide that support network, but in the future that might grow into sport being so welcoming that people can just participate without any worry.
“That’s the dream.”
