WHY TOM DALEY'S VIDEO HONESTY IS GOOD NEWS FOR SPORT, AND CONFUSED 19-YEAR-OLDS

Tom Daley’s brave, frank and very modern revelation about the complicated and unforeseen changes in his private life could have wider, positive implications not just for sport, but for 19-year-olds everywhere.
Those rolling their eyes and suggesting Daley’s sexual orientation is no surprise to them, should ask themselves how they’d have felt making such a public statement, not just telling their family, but sitting down on the sofa afterwards to tell the wider world in all its hard-nosed judgement.In breaking the news using video and social media Daley connected directly with his fans admitting, tacitly, and explicitly, that he didn’t trust the mainstream media not to twist his words and turn the story into more than it is.


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CLARE BALDING DEFENDS HERSELF FROM TWITTER TROLLS...

BBC Sport presenter Clare Balding has become the victim of Twitter trolls who have attacked her decision to front the organisation’s coverage of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.

The presenter, who is openly gay, was criticised for her decision not to boycott the Games over Russia’s laws against the ‘promotion’ of same-sex relationships.

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TOM DALEY: SOMETHING I WANT TO SAY...

GARETH THOMAS: MY FAMILY VALUES

I was able to come out as gay publicly because my family had accepted me. They thought nothing of it, and without them I wouldn't have been able to do it. If I didn't have them in my life I would have felt like I had no one. They just said, "You need to do what's best for you." That just gave me the strength I needed. After that I didn't care a jot about what the rest of the world thought. If I had my family I could always overcome something, I'd always have a home to go to and I'd always have a cuddle waiting for me when I needed it.

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RUGBY STAR, GARETH THOMAS, COMES OUT

Yesterday the 6ft 3in, 16-stone rugby star said he hoped he could make a difference to others struggling with their sexuality. "I just want to thank everyone for the amazing response I have received, on behalf of me, my family and friends," Thomas said. "I hope that by saying this I can make a big difference to others in my situation."

But he said he did not want to be known as a "gay rugby player" and hoped people would treat his sexuality as "irrelevant" to his career. "What I choose to do when I close the door at home has nothing to do with what I have achieved in rugby," he said. "I'd love for it, in 10 years' time, not to even be an issue in sport, and for people to say: 'So what?'"

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However, homosexuality is still considered taboo in many sports. Tatchell drew a comparison between rugby and football. "It is interesting that a couple of rugby and ex-rugby players have come out in recent years but still not a single professional football player," Tatchell said. "However, given there are 500 professional football players, statistically about 50 of them are probably gay or bisexual yet none have felt able to be open about their sexuality. Quite a few fear negative reactions from team-mates and fans and others are anxious they might lose sponsorship. Others feel their clubs would not be supportive."

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AVICII - ADDICTED TO YOU

The new music video by Avicii, a sweedish DJ, remixer, and record producer, is influenced by the story of Bonnie and Clyde but in his version, they're both female. 

PUTIN CAUTIONS GAY VISITORS TO SOCHI

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said homosexuals will be welcome in Sochi for the Olympics but warned them against spreading "gay propaganda".

"We don't have a ban on non-traditional sexual relations," he said. "We have a ban on promoting homosexuality and paedophilia among minors."

He was speaking in Sochi to volunteers due to help at next month's games.

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