Outed... but Roberts won't be the lastLAST WORD by Danny Weidler (Sports Weekly. 10 October 1995) There is no small matter of irony in the fact that Ian Roberts is in London now, the place of his birth, in a week in which he has been reborn in the eyes of sports fans and others all over Australia. That he is there with his long- term boyfriend Shane isn't the issue. That the world now knows is. Yes, Ian Roberts is gay. The long-held arrangement between Roberts and the media no longer applies. He has taken the step and told the world who he is. "I'm not happy with the way the story came out (through a Sydney paper tapping into an article in the gay American publication, the Advocate), it was the case of a journalist trying to make a hero of himself," he says. "Look, I'm the way I am. Simple as that. I'm not denying anything, but I can say that I was quoted out of context by the journalist." Other sports stars who have admitted to being gay include Martina Navtratilova, Billie-Jean King, Greg Louganis, English soccer player Justin Fashanu and American football stars Jerry Smith and David Kopay. Few males have admitted to being gay. Louganis and Smith came out only when they were diagnosed with AIDS. Smith, though, came to terms with the way his sexuality was perceived. He gave hundreds of speeches throughout the United State. Roberts doesn't even have to test himself. He says he is perfectly comfortable with his homosexuality. He has never hidden his preference and he has always talked of hoping to make a difference to others' lives by making it known. Following his modelling spread in Blue magazine earlier this year, he received hundreds of letters from young men and women who thanked him for his words and stand. When I interviewed him at the time he gave me a book tracing the life of NFL player David Kopay the first American sports person to come out. In it Kopay talks of the inner emotional struggle that he had with his sexuality and the fallout he faced after his announcement. When I asked Roberts to compare his life with Kopay's, Roberts said: "He (Kopay) was only a fringe player, his story is just the tip of the iceberg compared with what I've been through." Roberts was a shattered man after Manly lost the ARL Grand Final to the Sydney Bulldogs. Less than a week later he attended the annual Sleaze Ball at the Sydney Showgrounds with Shane dressed in matching red and black plastic tights. No Australian sports star lives a more contrasting life, but few sports stars have as many fans or are as widely admired as Roberts. He and Shane are openly affectionate and they are constantly by each other's side. Shane isn't the first longterm relationship that Roberts has had. He was involved in another relationship for three-and-a-half years before this one. While Roberts is proud of his homosexuality he is not interested in the political workings of the gay community. As Roberts grew up around the inner-city he had girlfrieUds but he knew he was gay. It took him until he was 22 to tell his parents, Jan and Ray, of his sexuality. Even though he was comfortable with the situation, telling his mum and dad ranks as the hardest thing he has done. That he has finally told the world is interesting because for so long he didn't feel the need to be open about his sexuality. The Soap Box isn't his calling, rather it's chat shows. "When I will speak about myself is when I talk about my book that will be coming out soon. That's when you'll get the whole story", he said. |
