Renowned field hockey player Peter Caruth has come out as a gay.
The Irish Olympian is the first international hockey player to publicly come out. The 32-year-old professional player shared his truth with the world through Instagram in late June.
He wrote, “I’m happy to announce that im GAY. It’s been filtering around slowly but I’m here to say it’s ok to be gay.”
Caruth then added, “Being the first ‘male’ Irish Olympian and International Hockey player to come out as gay is an honour and I’m thankful for the support shown thus far!”
Keep in mind, Peter Caruth is actually mistaken with part of his statement. Fellow male Irish Olympian Jack Woolley also came out. The taekwondo athlete came out as bisexual in 2020. That said, Caruth coming out has still created a major impact for LGBTQ representation in sports.
“The response since coming out has been extremely positive and I have had other male sporting athletes come up to me and say ‘me too,’” Caruth told The Irish Examiner. “These moments are spine tingling and rewarding.”
He added, “Firstly, I am grateful each of you had the courage to tell me and I feel that, being the joker and character I am, I can help other athletes come out and accept themselves. I think it’s my calling.”
Related: Out Olympian Jack Woolley Randomly Attacked by Mob
Peter Caruth also gave a shoutout to several athletes who came out before him.
He said, “For me the world is changing with many sporting make athletes having the courage to come out such as Jake Daniels, Craig Napier, Lloyd Wilson and, most recently, Nick McCarthy from Leinster rugby.”
As for his close friends and family, Peter Caruth says they’ve been supportive and welcoming.
“I knew from a very young age but it wasn’t a comfortable scenario in those days to come out,” he explained to RTÉ. “My family are quite a religious family, do you know what I mean, my mum is an RE [Religious Education] teacher, but look if people like my mum and my dad and all my best mates can truly be comfortable with it and accept it, it’s class.”
Source: The Irish Examiner, RTÉ,
I was thinking the other day how important it is for these gay coming out stories, please don’t ever treat them as if they aren’t necessary it helps so many gay guys see there are others like them.