Big in Japan: Meet the giant athlete who’s the only out active pro player in his sport
Jack Dunne, the only out active player in elite men’s rugby, tells Outsports about ‘culture shock’ of Japan and why Bi Visibility Day matters.
Mark
Five years ago, professional athlete Jack Dunne came out publicly as bisexual and made a meaningful impact, not just in his own sport of rugby union but in men’s team sports more widely.
He gave media interviews about his experiences growing up as bi in Ireland, took part in campaign activations, worked with LGBTQ charities, and spoke in schools. Reaching young people struggling with their sexuality was uppermost in his mind.
“There are some kids who could do with a role model,” said Dunne, who was 22 at the time. He’d been out to family and friends in Dublin since his teens, and his then teammates at Leinster knew and had embraced him, well before he spoke at a club event to mark Pride Month.
Related
These 25 courageous athletes are bringing bisexual visibility to their sports
On Bi Visibility Day, Outsports celebrates the out bi athletes making a difference through representation.
It was unusual to be visible then, and not much has changed on that front. Dunne went on to sign for Exeter Chiefs in England’s Premiership and is currently preparing for his second season in Japan, where he plays for the second-tier, Nagoya-based team Toyota Shuttles Aichi.
Get off the sidelines and into the game
Our weekly playbook is packed with everything from locker room chatter to pressing LGBTQ sports issues.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today
He is still the only out player, gay or bi, who is active in a top men’s rugby union pro league, anywhere in the world.
As a 6 ft 8 in forward, there’s no missing him, even more so in the city where he now lives. “It never gets old,” he tells Outsports, “stepping onto a train here, and half the carriage looks up as if to say, ‘what the…?!’
“Even the lads you wouldn’t consider to be enormous still get those looks!”
Dunne is among a group of around 20 foreign players in a squad of just over 50, and being so far from home, his rugby circle is also his social circle.
It’s well known that the culture in Japan is much more reserved on matters of sexuality than in the West, but even in that regard, there have been efforts to make him feel welcome.
“All the Japanese boys on the team are really supportive of me. One of the older guys who can’t speak much English came up to me and said, “We respect you — very brave. We support!”
“It’s not as open as back home, but it’s not like the people here don’t mean well.”
Coming out publicly felt ‘grand’ for Jack Dunne
Dunne is very down to earth and not the sort of person who would describe himself as being particularly courageous for having come out publicly.
But he’s no less conscious of how out of the ordinary that moment was, back in June 2021. He is speaking to mark Bi Visibility Day on September 23, and while it can sometimes feel like the awareness goal has been achieved, role models like him are still very rare.
“A day like this is almost more needed now than it was five years ago, which is kind of sad to say, because it looked like the world was going in the right direction,” he says.
“Now, everyone disagrees on everything, so I think it’s important to just push these things. You can say these calendar days are just symbolic and that they don’t really do much, but I think they do a bit — and if it helps a few people, then that’s good.”
Last year, the basketball player Josh Scott wrote an op-ed for Outsports to mark Coming Out Day. Like Dunne, he is also a pro athlete in Japan; he is based further west in Okayama, from where he had publicly come out as bi a few months before.
“The positive reactions to my Instagram post from earlier in the year felt really special to me,” wrote Scott, explaining that he now felt “empowered” after what had been “a heavy journey at times.”
The American’s story resonated with Dunne. “I found it fascinating,” he says. “I thought, this guy feels exactly like I felt when it happened to me. So I was delighted because you always want to see people live out their life true to themselves.”
Related
Pro basketball player feels 19 again after coming out publicly
Josh Scott moved to Japan to play pro, having been a college basketball star. Now he’s enjoying a fresh start at 32 as an out bisexual man.
He also couldn’t help but smile at the similarities in their situations, although Scott has the advantage in one sense. “I thought I was probably the tallest bisexual foreign sports player in Japan, but I guess not!”
There was a time when the likelihood of being labeled was a concern for Dunne. He’s sure it remains a major factor in what holds back other men who are bi from self-acceptance.
“It’s almost easier to lie to yourself because you don’t need to pretend to like girls at all — you can still do that and hide part of your life,” he explains.
“Then with sports, it’s still quite a macho atmosphere — not even in a bad way sometimes; it’s just inherently part of us. With all that competition, you think that being bisexual might be ‘a thing.’”
Even bi guys who can move past that state of mind would be very unlikely to talk openly about their sexuality.
In men’s pro team sports, active out bi athletes include Nico Keenan in field hockey and Alberto Lejarraga in soccer; while in Australia, Mitch Brown has thrown himself into the role of advocate after becoming the first former AFL player to come out.
The representation may be limited, but it’s impactful. For Dunne, it’s as much about the peace of mind, too.
“It’s almost not until you put your feet fully in there, that you can say, ‘oh, it’s actually grand.’ So I’m definitely glad I did, and those days when you’d spend time thinking about it — I did when I was younger — well, now it’s just me.”
Memories of a match-winning try and an eye-catching campaign
The Shuttles lost in the promotion-relegation playoffs at the end of last season. Dunne thinks it’s about the fourth time in a row that’s happened. “The target is to get back there and finally win it,” he says.
There’s a pre-season development competition called “Rising”, and then the serious business of league action begins in December.
After that, he’s not sure about his future. “I love it out here, but I miss home. I’ll wait to see how the season starts and then make a few decisions later.” Dunne’s girlfriend lives in London, and he’s very much looking forward to her next visit.
Sometimes, he’ll go back and watch the video of one of his favorite career moments, the try he scored for Exeter Chiefs in December 2023 to seal a famous European Champions Cup triumph over two-time winners Munster.
“It’s a pick-me-up, for sure,” he says, “especially being against Munster. Growing up at Leinster, they were always the team you wanted to beat. Yeah, that’s probably my best-ever rugby moment.”
Off the field, the representation he provides is something else he’s known for in the sport. He’s proud of how the rugby world has made him feel welcome, and the “great strides” it continues to make on inclusion, particularly around the rise of the women’s game.
In 2022, Dunne was the face of a sponsored campaign called “Lace Up with Pride,” the Irish equivalent of Rainbow Laces. Images showed him standing in the national stadium in Dublin, holding a giant Pride flag. Profits from the sale of the laces went to an LGBTQ charity.
Such a bold show of visibility would be unlikely in Japan, although even back home, activations on a grand scale are less common nowadays. That makes him a little sad.
“A few years ago, some people might have been critical of a campaign like that. But now, I kind of miss it,” he says.
Times have changed since 2021, but Jack Dunne hasn’t. He went public that year to help any young person who might need to see someone like him. Rugby should consider it fortunate to have him as a role model.
Subscribe to the Outsports newsletter to keep up with your favorite out athletes, inspiring LGBTQ sports stories, and more.
