Rhyian Anderson-Morley

Rhyian Anderson-Morley

Rhyian Anderson-Morley at the Yarraville Football Oval 2014
Personal information
Full nameRhyian Anderson-Morley
Date of birth21 June 1990
Place of birthAdelaide, South Australia
Original teamYarraville Seddon Eagles
Height/Weight196 cm / 97 kg
Position(s)Forward
Club information
Current clubYarraville Seddon Eagles
Number11

Rhyian Anderson-Morley (born 21 June 1990) is an Australian Rules Football Player currently playing for the Yarraville Seddon Eagles in the Western Region Football League in Melbourne, Australia. Rhyian was born in Adelaide, South Australia but moved to Melbourne, Victoria in 2012 to play football. Anderson-Morley plays in the forward line in the Reserves squad and is also the current Team Manager for the Seniors team and a Committee Board Member of the Yarraville Seddon Eagles. He is notable for being one of the first AFL players to come out.

Early life

Anderson-Morley did not begin to play football until the age of 22 due to his thoughts growing up that "gay blokes don't play footy".[1] When Rhyian moved to Melbourne, he began playing football at Yarraville Seddon Eagles and began to work on his skills as well as fitness and became a regular player in the forward line in the Reserves squad.

Coming out

Rhyian Anderson-Morley became only the second ever Australian Rules Football Player to come out publicly as gay in an article written by himself and published on the Front Page of The Age Newspaper in Melbourne.[2] Anderson-Morley cited several public statements regarding homosexuality in sport, such as Sam Newman's comments that Micheal Sam kissing his boyfriend on TV was "annoyingly gratuitous",[3] as encouraging him to come out so publicly so as to provide a positive role model to young gay people who would want to play sport.[4]

Controversy

Anderson-Morley's article suffered some criticism from the LGBTI community for his use of the word "normal" in his article. Anderson-Morley defended his comments in an interview stating that when he, and presumably other, kids realised they were gay they felt as if they were not "normal" and as he became an adult, he realised that being gay did not make him different and he could do those "normal" things he did not think he could, such as playing football.[5]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.starobserver.com.au/news/sport/come-out-and-then-what/125208
  2. ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/comment/im-gay-and-i-play-footy-whats-the-big-deal-20140531-zrt07.html
  3. ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/nfl-draftee-michael-sams-kiss-annoyingly-gratuitous-sam-newman-20140515-zrd41.html
  4. ↑ http://www.starobserver.com.au/news/sport/aussie-rules-player-comes-out-says-it-shouldnt-be-a-big-deal/123659
  5. ↑ http://gaynewsnetwork.com.au/news/victoria/young-gay-footballer-explains-his-normal-remark-14043.html

External links