For many LGBT+ people, the stigma and stereotypes around sport are enough to put them off before ever getting the chance to take part themselves. Already in the current football season we have seen homophobic chants coming from some fans, so it is really no wonder that some would rather avoid that world altogether. Sport …
For Hattie, discovering and joining the Birmingham Unicorns has given her a new lease of life. By her own admission, Hattie "lives and breathes" cricket, but despite that it was not always an easy journey to the Midlands side. Playing in her slightly younger days, she was on her way to becoming a promising all-rounder …
In many ways, Jay Timmins typifies what inclusive clubs are all about. For a variety of reasons, they never felt able to take part in sport before coming across the Birmingham Unicorns, but now they are slowly taking their first steps in cricket – and loving every minute. Suffering from chronic pain, a condition they …
Continue reading Jay Timmins: “I feel part of something that’s got momentum, which is important.”
Tomorrow a history-making match will be taking place as Graces and the Birmingham Unicorns face off in the first ever cricket match between two LGBT+ inclusive clubs. While the Unicorns are the newcomers on the block, with Lachlan Smith making the first moves to start the club last year, Graces have gone for decades without …
A prevalent theme for underrepresented communities in sport is that you can’t be what you can’t see. It is a refrain often repeated in women’s sport, football especially, but it is just as true for the LGBT+ community. It was particularly pleasing, therefore, to see such a prominence of articles across several media outlets for …
Growing up in Australia, Lachlan Smith struggled to reconcile his sexuality with his love of sport. Even after moving to England and being out for years, it was difficult for him to accept it was possible. Now though, he is investigating the possibility of starting an LGBT+ cricket team in the West Midlands.
Former Scotland cricket captain Abbi Aitken-Drummond has always been quite a private person, which helped her come to terms with her sexuality as a youngster, but now she wants to speak out and inspire the next generation.
The holy grail around most discussions of LGBT+ in sport is that we don’t have an out footballer in the English Premier League. I think that would be a big step, but I don’t think that is the magical cure all for homophobia.
Pride of the Terraces 