How stars from other sports have dealt with the sensitive subject

Rugby League: Keegan Hirst

Prop Hirst revealed his sexuality in 2015. He was initially encouraged by the support of his team-mates. ‘[That] has really surprised me, it’s all been positive,’ he said. ‘These are tough blokes. We go out on the field together and it’s 26 blokes knocking seven shades out of each other. But on the other side of it, you go through blood, sweat and tears together — and they’ve been there for me when I needed them most.’ In September, his club, Batley, banned a supporter from their stadium for life for directing homophobic abuse at him.

Olympics: Tom Daley

The 22-year-old diver, who has won two Olympic bronze medals, used his YouTube channel to record a message explaining he is gay in 2013. Daley grew up in the public eye and bullies at school would call him gay as an insult. Since coming out — he said the decision was a ‘massive weight’ off his shoulders — Daley does not feel he has largely been singled out due to his sexuality, but he has still faced abuse online. He plans to go into TV after he finishes competing and is one of the most recognised sportsmen in Britain with 2.6m followers on Twitter and 1.7m on Instagram.

Cricket: Steven Davies

Davies revealed publicly he was gay in February 2011, making him the first international cricketer to do so. He had come out to his family five years prior to that and had already told his teammates of his sexuality. The rest of the England team rallied around him. Captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower rang every team member on his behalf to tell them and they kept it in-house for months before he went public.

Boxing: Orlando Cruz

Puerto Rican boxer Cruz has ambitions to become the first openly gay world champion. Cruz came out in October 2014 — the first active boxer to do so — saying: ‘I have and will always be a proud Puerto Rican. I have always been and always will be a proud gay man.’ The man they call ‘The Phenomenon’ has a bout scheduled against Luis Sanchez and will then pursue a fight to become WBO world super featherweight champion . He often wears rainbow attire — the symbol of LGBT pride — in fights and has received widespread support since coming out.