Paul Childs via Reuters
Antoine Dupont says professional rugby is ready to accept openly gay players
LGBT+ – This is a strong position in the world of sport. Antoine Dupont, the captain of the French rugby team and Stade Toulousain, is on the cover of the next issue of Stubborn from Wednesday. The interview, published this Monday, June 17 on the site, the world oval star claims to want “that all players feel good about their sexuality” and that homosexuality should not “no longer a taboo” in his sport.
First rugby player to pose on the front page of StubbornAntoine Dupont believes that “it is also our responsibility, we players, (…) to speak and show that there is no problem for us, that we accept everyone. » French football team players Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud also posed on the front page of the magazine. Antoine Dupont thus becomes the 3rd athlete to do so.
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” VSthose who hide it must live with it badly”
Today, only one professional rugby player is openly gay: Jérémy Clamy-Edroux, who plays for Rouen, in the second division. But Antoine Dupont “strongly doubt there is only one gay on the pitch” in the columns of Têtu. The captain of the Blues believes that there are still “fears” of being stigmatized, pigeonholed, and seen only by one’s sexual orientation. “I understand that this could be a hindrance for the people concerned”he says.
Asked if he had ever spoken with players who were hesitant to talk about their homosexuality publicly, Antoine Dupont said “no exactly, never, whether in my entourage or elsewhere”. It is also a reason which pushes him to communicate on the subject, “because those who hide it must experience it badly”.
However, he affirms that rugby is ready to welcome other openly homosexual players: “We are very open-minded, and today I think we are all capable of accepting each other’s sexual orientations. So we really need to repeat it, communicate about it, so that everyone definitely feels comfortable with it. »
Rugby considered a macho sport
If it is difficult for a professional rugby player to come out, it is because rugby is considered a virile and macho sport, by Antoine Dupont’s own admission. “A man must be strong, virile, and necessarily like girls, even lots of girls, even though we know very well that that has nothing to do with virility”he details before adding: “But today, I think we have overcome all these constraints. » “Everyone has their own way of being a man, and whatever it is, we must achieve that there is no longer any taboo or shame” he says.
He also acknowledges having already heard demonstrations of homophobia, which are “expressions (…) just dropped as a joke” or some “insults”. For him, these “little jokes” are far from helping a gay player come out. “So even when these comments are not made with malicious intent, we have a responsibility, we must be careful about what we say”advances the one who understands that this general atmosphere can be oppressive “ for someone discovering their sexual orientation ».
But for him, in rugby, mentalities are ready, and “we must proclaim it loud and clear. »
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