Keegan Hirst Comes Out, First Professional Rugby Player To Do So

British rugby fans were greeted on Sunday with the news that one their sports stars is gay.

Keegan Hirst, the captain of the Batley Bulldogs, revealed his sexual orientation in an extensive interview with the Daily Mirror.

"At first I couldn't even say 'I'm gay' in my head, let alone out loud," the 27 year old, 6'4" Hirst told the Mirror.

"Now I feel like I'm letting out a long breath that I've held in for a long time."

Married with a wife and two kids, Hirst reflected that he's worked in a number of blue collar jobs before playing rugby.

"I tick every macho box. How could I be gay? I'm from Batley for goodness sake. No one is gay in Batley."

And he reveals: "The only time I felt free of the torment was when I stepped on the rugby pitch. Now I feel free."

"Keegan hopes his decision to be open will help others in the sport who might be fighting with their emotions," the Mirror report continues.

When his wife blamed herself for the break-up of their four-year marriage, he felt he needed to tell her the truth. "She didn't say anything at first. I explained why and how I felt, it was very emotional. We were both in tears," he said.

"She didn't ask a lot of questions, but she was supportive. She was totally blind-sided. She'd had absolutely no idea.

"It was incredibly tough, but for me it was a weird situation because it also felt liberating."

Hirst grew up in a single-parent household with two younger siblings after his dad walked out on his mom before he was born. "He started playing rugby at 11, and quit sixth-form college to pursue his rugby dreams, starting on a �scholarship at Huddersfield before joining Bradford Bulls' under-18 academy," the Mirror reported.

He realized having same-sex attractions at 15, but suppressed them and dated women. "By the time I was 18, I was in complete denial, hoping it would go away. It was inconceivable to tell anybody how I was feeling."

"Society dictates that when you're a 16-year-old lad you have a girlfriend, you sleep with her and that's how it is.

"Especially as a rugby player and a lad who grew up on a council estate. You go out, go drinking, carrying on -- that's what you do. I convinced myself, no way could I be gay, it was inconceivable."

His conflicted sex life led to turmoil in his domestic life.

"I was playing matches on a Sunday and then I'd go out and get in some ridiculous states. I was drinking anything and everything, pints, shots.

"I was drinking 20 pints plus every time. I'd roll in at 5:30 on a Monday and have to be up for work at six.

"My wife would ask why was I out till all hours, who was I with, what was I doing, where had I been?

"Sometimes I couldn't answer because I just couldn't remember -- but I do know I was always faithful, I've never cheated on her.

"It wasn't that I wasn't happy with her, it was that I wasn't happy with myself," he told the Mirror.

"At his lowest," the Mirror reports, "Keegan says, he considered taking his own life. 'On the worst days I'd think, 'I can't do this, I'd rather be dead than for it all to come out.'"

Earlier this year, though, Hirst moved to "come to terms" with his sexuality.

"I haven't been out as a gay guy on the pull yet, so that'll be a new experience. I don't know yet how these things work."

While he expects to be heckled by rugby fans, Hirst has received much support from his fellow players and from other sports professionals.

"I thought I'd be disowned by friends and family but I haven't been.

"People keep saying I'm brave -- I don't feel brave. I'm just talking about me.

There might be other players in the same position I was. If there are I'd tell them to just be honest with themselves.

"The support from my team-mates and other rugby league players has really surprised me, it's all been positive.

"These are tough blokes. We go out on the field together and it's 26 blokes knocking seven shades out of each other."

The Guardian, another British newspaper, reported a number of tweets from his fellow players in Hirst's support.

"Respect to Keegan Hirst for coming out as gay. Couldn't have been easy to announce in our sport. Proud to say I know you mate!" tweeted the Hull KR player James Green.

"Nothing but respect for my good friend and old front row partner @KeeganHirst." Another message, from a fan, said: "changes nowt pal. #TopLad." Tweeted Alex Walmsley, a prop forward with St. Helens.

The Guardian also interviewed Nigel Wood, the chief executive of the Rugby Football League, the sport's governing body, about Hirst's decision.

"Our sport prides itself on being open and accessible to all communities and I'm almost tempted to say that it's not that remarkable," he said. "I feel it's hardly an issue worthy of comment because why shouldn't a player come out and say that they're gay?

"Particularly with a sport that is as expressive and tough as rugby league, I think there is a presupposition that would suppose that people who were gay would not be playing it, but that's just not right."

Hirst posed in the nude with another rugby player in a photo that was released on Monday. The identity of the other player or the context of the photo has yet to be revealed, but no one is complaining.