GARETH THOMAS ON HIV STIGMA, AND WHY REPRESENTATION IN SPORT MATTERS

Retired rugby star Gareth Thomas is a sporting legend, not just for once being the most-capped Welsh player on the pitch, but for his work advocating for LGBTQ+ rights.

The 47-year-old made history when he became the first openly gay rugby union player in 2009, facing a media frenzy at a time when there was scant recognition of diverse sexualities and identities in sport.

In 2019, he revealed he is HIV positive, and has been tirelessly campaigning to end the stigma around the condition ever since.

“Now that I’m outside of the game, I can really take stock of it, because it isn’t everything to me now. I look back and think my proudest career moment was when I felt I could finally be authentic, and still continue to play rugby. That was a career and life-defining moment for me.

“When we talk about my story, or people before or after me, we [tend to] talk about society now. Our society is far from perfect, but it is definitely in a different place than it was 10 or 15 years ago. I was in a team sport, which means you have to adjust, compromise and fit in with the people around you. It was at a time when nobody in rugby, and nobody since – at the level that I was playing at – had done it before.

“There wasn’t understanding or knowledge. There wasn’t an environment of myself or anyone else knowing what was going to happen. I’ll be honest, it angered me. It p ***** me off, because the knowledge should have been put in place already.

“Things are progressing, but discrimination hasn’t gone away. I was reading that in this Olympics there are three times as many out LGBTQ+ athletes, but how many could you actually name?

“Around 6% of the total population are gay, but if you only have one openly gay person in a sport of around 500 or 600 people, something’s not adding up there. It’s also still illegal to be gay in 69 countries in the world, so we can sit here and say everything’s fine but there’s still a way to go.

“I’m extremely passionate about creating an environment where the misunderstanding around HIV is no longer relevant.

HIV is not a virus that can kill you, if you get tested and take medication. You can live a long, happy and healthy life. Lots of people still don’t know that. It’s really important that we eradicate this fear for everybody.

Gareth Thomas is an ambassador for small business insurance provider Simply Business’ Business Boost campaign – helping one self-employed person start, grow or revive their business with a £25,000 grant. Visit simplybusiness.co.uk