‘Being gay is my superpower’ says out rugby legend Ian Roberts, as he celebrates his legacy
Ian Roberts made LGBTQ history 30 years ago, coming out as gay in pro rugby league. He talks to Outsports about his documentary crowdfunder. The post ‘Being gay is my superpower’ says out rugby legend Ian Roberts, as he celebrates his legacy appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
“I love being gay. Can I just put that out there? It’s the best thing that ever happened to me!”
More often than not, Ian Roberts’ interactions with the media revolve around bad news for the LGBTQ community.
Even though it’s been 30 years since his sexuality became public knowledge, reported around the world, the former rugby league pro is the man to ask when sports journalists in Australia are chasing comments about an incident of homophobia.
But why wouldn’t you want to reach out to Roberts? He’s such good company — chatty, cheeky, warm-hearted and endlessly quotable. Also, for someone who recently celebrated his 60th birthday, he looks to be in superb shape.
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The call from Outsports comes after a run of days that have seen Roberts grace morning shows and newspaper front pages. A revelation about the 1994 Kangaroos tour, in which Australia’s national team won a Test series in Great Britain, has grabbed people’s attention.
In turn, the news has successfully spotlighted the crowdfunder for a forthcoming documentary about his remarkable life. And what a wild ride it’s been.
The film’s working title is “Light” — and Roberts’ passion for making change and his tales of escapades on the gay scene guarantee more than a few upbeat and humorous vignettes.
But those who have followed his story or have read the synopsis will know the title also alludes to a tragedy. Arron James Light was living on the Sydney streets when he disappeared in 1997; his remains were discovered in a shallow grave five years later.
Roberts, who had met Light and tried to help him, was devastated by what happened to the teenager. He was also deeply affected around that time by the news that Justin Fashanu, then the only other out gay athlete of international renown in men’s team sports, had taken his own life in London in 1998.
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“I always pay tribute to Justin,” says Roberts. “I nearly came out the same year as him, in 1990.
“But I remember particularly seeing how brutalized he was by the press. It’s not that I wasn’t ready for that. But it made me think, oh, my family’s not ready.”
Ian Roberts says ‘visibility is power’ for gay athletes
He grew up in the South Sydney suburbs and despite the heavily homophobic culture around him, at home, in sports and in Australian society generally, he reached self-acceptance at a young age.
It meant that by his mid-20s, he didn’t really care who knew that he was gay.
“I was stubborn, and a bit pigheaded — I was that kid who thought, I shouldn’t have to come out.
“I’m walking down the street holding my partner’s hand, and we’re going to a function together. If you can’t work the rest out for yourself, that’s on you, you know?”
The recent reports about the 1994 tour have revealed that three of Roberts’ senior Kangaroos teammates threatened to pull out of the trip after learning the prop forward was gay.
The former chief executive of Australian Rugby League discusses this moment in the documentary. Amusingly, the trio (who remain unnamed) quickly backed down when told by the ARL chairman that while they might get deselected, Roberts was definitely getting picked.
By the following year, he had done shoots for gay magazines and spoken about his sexuality in interviews both at home and abroad. When Outsports compiled the 100 most important moments in LGBTQ sports history, Roberts’ coming out at the age of 30 was placed high on the list.
But because it was a piecemeal path towards going public, in a time before the digital age, he finds it difficult to pinpoint a specific moment.
“In 1994, I was with Shane, my then boyfriend,” he recalls, “and if anyone asked, I would tell them.
“But I used to say to reporters, ‘Why does that matter?’ And looking back now, saying that was almost a sense of denial. I wasn’t doing it for that reason, but it did weigh on me.”
Nowadays, it feels like there are multiple avenues that a gay athlete can take if they want to come out. Roberts had no such roadmap. “In a way, I do regret that now because visibility is really important and has a lot of power.”
He’s his own worst critic, of course. Few sportsmen have spoken up in support so often or given so much back to the LGBTQ community.
He was a co-founder and the first director of Qtopia Sydney, the city’s queer history and culture museum, and he’s speaking to Outsports at the end of a long day delivering inclusive education in Canberra.
“We stand on the shoulders of giants,” he says humbly, again mentioning the trailblazing Fashanu.
He also mourns those we have lost who are not so well known — along with Arron Light, the documentary is set to feature the stories of Blake Stenning, who contracted HIV from a blood transfusion, and Tyler Unsworth, who endured homophobic bullying and took his own life in 2016, age just 13.
“The deaths of these three young men made me realize, we can do better. We should do better.
“And this will be the part of the film where the stuff we talk about is really dark. That’s going to shock people.”
Money donated through the crowdfunder will support not just the post-production costs but also legacy learning projects which will keep the memories of the three youngsters alive.
What makes Roberts special is that he doesn’t just represent himself. His ‘ruck-and-roll’ ride through macho sports culture at a time of such upheaval for LGBTQ rights, and his strong emotional sensibility, make him a vehicle through which more stories can be shared.
It’s no wonder he went into acting after hanging up his boots.
“I’m a ‘Star Wars’ fan, you know?” he says. “We talk about the dark side, and that’s predominantly what people want to focus on.
“But as I said, I love being gay, it’s my superpower. In fact, I wish I’d embraced it and been more visible at a much younger age.”
Nevertheless, he became a hero to many, many people. A documentary is the least Ian Roberts deserves.
Donations can be made to fund “Light — The Ian Roberts Story” at Documentary Australia.
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The post ‘Being gay is my superpower’ says out rugby legend Ian Roberts, as he celebrates his legacy appeared first on Outsports.
