Nudging All Black stereotypes
ALMOST 30 years on from the passing of the Human Rights Act, which outlawed discrimination on the basis of sexuality, the first All Black has publicly announced he is gay.
He is Campbell Johnstone (43), a prop who played in three tests in 2005 — a total of 73 minutes on the field, according to a New Zealand Rugby Museum profile.
For most of his adult playing career he was in Canterbury, clocking up around 100 games in red and black jerseys for the Crusaders and Canterbury.
Former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, with a typical turn of phrase, described him as having one of the best right shoulders in the game.
Now that shoulder is giving a nudge to acceptance of diversity in the All Blacks.
While his announcement has been widely welcomed, it is telling he did not feel confident to come out during his playing career.
One of the few international rugby players to do so is Welsh star Gareth Thomas, a former
British and Irish Lions captain.
When he came out at the end of 2009, he said he ‘‘would love for it in 10 years’ time not to even be an issue in sport, and for people to say: ‘So what?’’’.
We are not there yet, although there will be those who have greeted the news with that expression, possibly wondering why it is even news in 2023.
Someone’s sexuality is nobody’s business, but when who you love attracts discrimination or slurs and abuse, and you feel you have to hide that part of your life or pretend to be something you are not, then it does matter.
Johnstone, in his television interview, said he had struggled to accept his sexuality during his playing career, plagued by doubts he did not fit the rugby stereotype, and when he had had a bad game he would look at ‘‘that side of me and blame that side for it’’.
Without that turmoil, could he have been a better player?
Perhaps some credit should be given to women’s sports players , and their supporters, for the role they have played in breaking down barriers in recent years on this issue.
Indeed, it was former Silver Fern and Black Fern Louisa Wall, in a later role as a Labour member of Parliament, who had her member’s Bill on same sex marriage drawn from the ballot and saw it through to become law.
In 2020 she expressed frustration with the pace of change when findings from a Monash University study showed young LGBTQ New Zealanders playing sport were less likely to come out than peers in other countries, five years after sporting organisations said they were going to tackle homophobic language and discrimination.
Openly gay players are nothing new in the women’s game, although it has been pointed out the recent review of the Black Ferns identified the need for better support for highperformance gay athletes.
Former Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle, now Sport New Zealand chief executive, has also been on the case.
She endured death threats after the sacking of Israel Folau following his homophobic social media posts. In her Australian role Ms Castle also put money into Monash research quantifying the use of homophobic language among young rugby players, and why they used it.
There may still be some diehard rugby supporters out there who have been scuttling out occasionally from underneath rocks over recent decades to watch rugby who might feel Johnstone’s announcement is the end of the world as they know it.
However, the sky will not fall in, just as it did not with the passing of the Homosexual Law Reform Act, the Human Rights Act, the
Civil Union Act, or the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act.
If Johnstone’s openness encourages any gay male rugby players at whatever level to feel more confident they will be accepted, that has to be good for sport and our communities.