Pride Pioneer: Pro athlete cut ties with ‘fear, shame and guilt’ when he came out as gay
Former NRL star Kane Evans, who played at two Rugby League World Cups, has come out as gay, having struggled with being gay for 20 years.
Mark
Editor’s note: This story was published in 2017 and is being republished as part of Outsports Pride Pioneer series.
One of the toughest players in professional rugby league has come out publicly as gay.
Kane Evans, who had a 10-year career in the NRL in his native Australia and in England’s Super League, explained in an emotional TV interview the damaging effect of hiding his sexuality for two decades.
Now 34, Evans also represented Fiji in the Rugby League World Cup tournaments in 2013 and 2017.
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Last month, he had opened up on social media about how he was turning his life around after struggles with homelessness and addiction. He becomes only the second out gay NRL player in history, after the legendary Ian Roberts.
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In his interview with Nine’s “100% Footy” show, Evans says: “I had three goals in life: to play NRL, to buy my parents a house, and then I wanted to top myself.
“Because I was living in denial, from a young age I know that I’m gay, but I went down every other avenue to build up these walls to be someone, to escape who I am.”
@sydneymorningherald Former NRL enforcer and Fijian international Kane Evans has detailed his battles with alcohol, substance addiction and suicidal thoughts while wrestling with his sexuality in an emotional interview aired on Channel Nine’s 100% Footy. Read more from Dan Walsh in the Herald. If you are worried about your own or someone else’s mental health, you can contact the Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511 or Lifeline on 13 11 14. ♬ original sound – Sydney Morning Herald
Evans made his name as a hard-hitting prop forward in the NRL. Over his career, he made more than 130 appearances in the league for the Sydney Roosters, Parramatta Eels, and the New Zealand Warriors.
He made six World Cup appearances as part of the Fiji squads that reached the semifinals in consecutive tournaments. In 2022, he moved to England to play for Hull FC.
With his playing days now behind him, Evans has revealed that his fearsome on-field persona was actually an escape from a painful inner conflict that began in his mid-teens.
“I still can’t believe I’m here talking to you. This is definitely my worst nightmare, but I know if I surrender, it’s the start to a new life,” he tells interviewer James Bracey.
“I was sleeping in parks, doing drugs, trying to ultimately pass away so I didn’t have to come to this. But I know there are people struggling with the same struggle I’ve gone through, so I’m very blessed that I can come here and talk to you and be able to save a life or two.
“I’ve carried that around my whole life, but I’m here today to show people you don’t have to live like that.”
Evans signed a two-year contract with Hull FC but was released early in 2023, for personal reasons. He set up a coffee shop in Sydney, but the business failed, and he ended up couch-surfing and sleeping in public parks.
In the interview, he also reveals that over the years, multiple people tried to blackmail him by exposing his sexuality.
“I’ve had people try to throw me under the bus, I’ve had people try to deflect their problems by trying to out me. And it just built up a lot of shame, and fear and guilt within myself,” added Evans.
“Now I’ve spoken about it, I’ve shattered all those chains. They’ve lost their power. I feel like coming and speaking to you today, fear, shame, guilt — all of that, I’ve cut ties with all that.”
Kane Evans joins ranks of courageous out gay Aussie athletes
Evans’ decision to come out is significant in both rugby league and the wider world of Australian men’s professional team sports.
Trailblazing Australia international Roberts came out in 1995 while still at the peak of his playing career.
Since then, in men’s professional rugby league, only Wales international cross-code star Gareth Thomas (2009) and former Batley Bulldogs and Wakefield Trinity prop Keegan Hirst (2015) have followed suit.
Cronulla Sharks forward Toby Rudolf said in 2022 that “sexuality is fluid” and that he has “kissed many gay men” but stopped short of being more specific about his orientation.
However, in Australia in recent years, there have been several current and former pro athletes from men’s team sports who have come out as gay or bi. They include ex-AFL footballers Mitch Brown and Leigh Ryswyk; basketball duo Isaac Humphries and AJ Ogilvy; soccer players Andy Brennan and Josh Cavallo; and rugby union’s Dan Palmer.
Evans has credited the Rugby League Players Association (RLPA) and his former Roosters coach, Trent Robinson, for saving his life by helping him get into rehab.
Now more than 130 days sober, Evans said he chose to speak out to dismantle the blackmail threats and to help others who are silently suffering.
“Even now, I feel more free just by saying it out loud,” Evans said. “I’ve brought it to light.”
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