Top referee shares homophobic letter
Respected former rugby referee Nigel Owens has published a hateful homophobic letter that was sent to his house in Wales.
Owens, who hung up his whistle in 2020 after controlling 100 tests, is openly gay and has been repeatedly vocal about homophobic behaviour.
Owens said he anguished over publishing the letter but eventually decided to do so on Twitter, saying it was signed by a steel worker who needed to be called out for his behaviour.
‘‘I’ve thought long and hard about posting this letter I received in the post a few weeks ago signed by a steel worker,’’ Owens wrote.
‘‘But unless we start calling out these kind of people nothing will change. It hurts and there is no need for all this hate.
#Be kind
The vile letter reads:
‘‘The Bible says ‘Man shall not lie with man nor women with woman, it’s an abomination.’
‘‘Nor should men dress in women’s clothing, nor women with men’s’ What do you think AIDS is?
‘‘It is god’s punishment to the sodomites. Forget that people pretend to accept you because they don’t. The same goes for Gareth Thomas. His team mates think he is disgusting. He too is being punished by God.
‘‘Only a queer would buy a Korean car. You should be ashamed.’’
Thomas is a former Wales captain who revealed his homosexuality in 2009 and admitted that he was HIV positive in 2019.
Thomas posted in the comments section of Owen’s post, applauding the former referee: ‘‘He’s a serial writer, butt,’’ Thomas said. ‘‘He writes those kinds of letters to everyone, good on you for calling him out.’’