Ian Thorpe bares his soul

Or if you read all the SMS I had this morning from me gay mates "bares his bum" is a better headline. Reaction varies from "About bloody time" to "Hypocrite". Here's a typical columnist http://www.smh.com.au/sport/swimming/ia ... zt5rm.html Note what he says about Thorpe's "I did not have sex with that woman Miss Lewinsky" commentary: "For the record,тАЭ he wrote in his autobiography two years ago, тАЬ I am not gay and all my sexual experiences have been straight.тАЭ

Best SMS: "If it was a story about Thorpe in a 3sum with Matthew Mitcham and some other dude THAT would be news" and "Why now? He's well past his sell-by date"

[LoveThailand]

Big dick - not so handsome face. Catching up with guys who these days dare to come out while still in the game.

[joe552]

I think it's a positive that he has come out (do we remember our own struggles with that?). Will it make any difference to the gay 15 or 16 year old in Nowheresville, Nebraska or any other small town? Probably not.

[scottish-guy]

Joe has summed it up pretty well - who cares really.

It would have been rather more impressive if he hadn't spent years not merely being ambiguous about his sexuality, but downright denying he was gay (the swimmer, not Joe )

However, he is by no means the first athlete/politician/musician/actor to do that - and as those of us in the UK and Ireland who are of a certain age might remember, not ever the first Thorpe! :ymdevil:

[Jellybean]

However, he is by no means the first athlete/politician/musician/actor to do that - and as those of us in the UK and Ireland who are of a certain age might remember, not ever the first Thorpe!

Oh yes! I remember the other Thorpe very well.

One night, two friends and I decided to visit a straight bar for a change. As we entered the bar some wag shouted out, тАЬLook! Three Jeremys!тАЭ One of my friends, if I remember correctly, was on the camp side and I wasnтАЩt too keen on going to a straight bar with him. I was horrified at the reaction as we had barely stepped through the doors. We turned tail and fled immediately to a background noise of hilarious laughter. Queer bashing and homophobia were rife in those days and it would be another 20 years before I тАШcame outтАЩ to my colleagues at work. Ah ... memories!

[lego]

It does get boring, after all.

[joe552]

I think that sometimes it's helpful for young people to see sports stars or actors come out. Look at the British diver Tom Daley and the American football player (whose name escapes me). Positive messages from people still active and successful in their sport. What message a young guy gets from a retired sportsman finally admitting he's gay, having denied it in his autobiography, isn't that helpful.

[scottish-guy]

Can we leave the over-hyped, over-rated, under-achiever known as Tom Daley out of it please.

I strongly suspect the only reason he regularly gets mentioned on gay boards is because many would like to have got into his knickers - or even his speedoes.

Joe excepted of course.

A story in todays papers suggests he and his management team had discussions as early as 2000 and decided against coming out because it would threaten his lucrative sponsorship deals. Now that's a message for today's young gay guys! http://www.smh.com.au/sport/swimming/de ... 3bv2m.html

[fountainhall]

It's all too easy to criticise Thorpe for publicly denying being gay for a long time. As Joe552 points out, perhaps it's too easy to forget the denials and struggles many of us had to go through. But I don't agree with his later comment: "What message a young guy gets from a retired sportsman finally admitting he's gay, having denied it in his autobiography, isn't that helpful." There is one pertinent comment in that Sydney Morning Herald article that I think may well be of some help to those trying to make the decision to come out -

one canтАЩt help wonder if having to hide his sexuality and not live as the man he wants to be has had anything to do with the depression, alcohol, prescription drugs and troubles he has had in recent years.

Isn't the message there that it's far better to come out early and not inflict those demons on yourself?