Lessons to be learnt: Steven Davies’ decision to ‘come out’

When I heard earlier this week that England cricketer Steven Davies had publicly announced that he was gay, I felt that it would be worthy of an article, but it was only as I sat down to write it that I really started to think about the issue. I thought about putting the article to one side because at the end of the day, who am I to comment? I am not gay, nor am I an England cricketer. You’ve got to admit that it doesn’t put me in the greatest position.

However, then I thought a little bit more and a little bit deeper and came to the following dilemma: Is the attitude that I initially thought about taking a part of the very problem when it comes to people’s attitudes towards people who are different to themselves?

I like to think that we are all part of a university where it doesn’t matter whether you are straight or gay, but I think most people realise that there are a lot of people, cultures and societies out there that don’t take the same approach. As I have previously said, earlier this week, England wicket keeper Steven Davies made a public announcement that he was gay. The decision was undoubtedly a brave one, and nobody will really know why he chose this moment to publicise his sexuality. In a particularly interesting interview with the BBC, Davies explained how he told Andy Flower, Andrew Strauss and the rest of the England team and backroom staff before The Ashes began in November. He also revealed how he told his parents when he was nineteen, and just felt that “the time was right” to make the announcement public.

Another interesting side to the interview for me was regarding one of the questions put to Davies. He was asked by the interviewer whether because men’s sport remains a “macho environment”, was “homosexuality the last acceptable prejudice that remained in sport?” I found the wording of this question to be quite revealing, as the term “prejudice” is defined as “an unfavourable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason”. Based on this, surely it shouldn’t be the case that any prejudices are warranted as “acceptable”? But yet they are, and a lot of people don’t tend to think anything of it, especially when it comes to a person’s sexuality. Davies has already said that he was surprised by how many column inches the Daily Telegraph gave the interview in which he first revealed that he was gay, stating that he was surprised that it was made into such a big issue.

Davies’ announcement will also have cricketing implications, both positively and negatively. He has spoke about how heartened he was by the positive reaction of his professional colleagues both at England and Surrey, and by the support that he has received over social networking sites from ordinary members of the public. However, unfortunately there will be complications that arise from the announcement. There is a good chance that Davies could play for England in places such as the UAE or Pakistan, where homosexuality is illegal. The ECB will have to take decisions about whether it would put Davies in any personal danger if he was to tour such places, and those decisions will not be easy ones to take.

I think the fact that Steven Davies has decided to come out shows that courage has prevailed over societal prejudices, no doubt there. But that only half serves to answer my original question. Davies’ situation made me quantify just how important it is for straight people to try and understand the difficulties that people face when telling others they are gay.

As of now, Steven Davies is the only gay professional cricketer, so in his professional life he can’t turn to people in the same way that a gay student can turn to the university LGBT community if they need support when telling people. Will I view Steven Davies any differently because he is gay? Of course not. I just sincerely hope that other people take the same approach.

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