Total respect - I have nothing but admiration for Graeme and what he's achieved in his life, both on and off the bike. He's suffered some real lows in his life, but has always kept his dignity. Top man.
-
The Cycling News forum is still looking to add volunteer moderators with. If you're interested in helping keep our discussions on track, send a direct message to
In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.
Thanks!
It pretty much ruined Justin Fashanu's career. After he came out Torquay Utd were the only british club that would even give him a job. He got harrassed by players, managers, fans alike. He eventually commited suicide in 1998.
To address the point of why the thread. I think to fans of Obree this is a massively important time. Not because he is gay, but because he finally appears to have got to the point in his life where he is happy and confident enough to share it. He was close twice to becomming one of cyclings footnotes.
To address the point of why the thread. I think to fans of Obree this is a massively important time. Not because he is gay, but because he finally appears to have got to the point in his life where he is happy and confident enough to share it. He was close twice to becomming one of cyclings footnotes.
- Apr 16, 2009
- 17,350
- 6,414
- 28,180
Thanks for the insult!jaylew said:
I take your point. Maybe it has to do more with sports than anything else, right? still not good. So that does not exclude western Europe. I thought it would be different there, how naive.
Good for Graeme.
Good on'ya, Graeme! You've always been fast, now double warp speed to make up for lost time!
You can be proud of yourself, as what you've lived through and told about will make life just a little bit easier for those who might face the same conflict: Should I tell the truth or live the lie?
Thanks from one who lost his beautiful kid brother, then 17, overwhelmed by the sheer size of this conflict 28 yrs ago.
You can be proud of yourself, as what you've lived through and told about will make life just a little bit easier for those who might face the same conflict: Should I tell the truth or live the lie?
Thanks from one who lost his beautiful kid brother, then 17, overwhelmed by the sheer size of this conflict 28 yrs ago.
Barrus
BANNED
- Apr 28, 2010
- 3,480
- 1
- 0
Escarabajo said:
How many openly gay football players are there out there, I doubt that there are many. It is a sad testament to the manner at which gays are looked upon in professional sports.
But good for Graeme to finally feel safe and secure enough to come out to the world and lgood for him to finally have this improved state of mind
- Mar 19, 2009
- 9,891
- 1,790
- 20,680
I wasn't trying to insult you at all, Escarabajo.
It sometimes amazes me that athletes in this country still feel the need to hide their sexuality. At other times I'm not so amazed, like when I hear some of the things pre-teen and teenage boys say to each other.
It sometimes amazes me that athletes in this country still feel the need to hide their sexuality. At other times I'm not so amazed, like when I hear some of the things pre-teen and teenage boys say to each other.
- Apr 16, 2009
- 17,350
- 6,414
- 28,180
Barrus said:
There is, as far as I know, one openly gay professional athlete in a team sport-and that's Gareth Thomas. Check out that SI article I linked to earlier, it's a great read. Hopefully, as a pathfinder he becomes an inspiration to people in the same situation, but he had to travel down the same dark road as Obree did. It's sad.
We still live in an time where figure skaters feel the need to be coy about their sexuality. I'd imagine for a team sport, it's horrendous pressure to be gay and in the closet.
Escarabajo said:
Thing is. The 70s and 80s in Western Scotland were not a good place to be a working class kid. It was tough. Factor in Obree was odd and the son of a policeman. He was having a lot of trouble. Being gay and repressing it in that environment obviously was a very traumatising experience.
If Obree was brought up in similar conditions today he might have been a lot more open, but brought up in those times will have locked up those feelings strongly.
- Feb 20, 2010
- 32,300
- 13,827
- 28,180
Escarabajo said:No problem Jay. You clarified better the point I was looking for.
thanks.
It's difficult. The situation has definitely improved in the last few years, as more people are growing to adult age and to positions of relative power who are not afraid of homosexuality. If you compare the reactions people like Brendan Burke and Gareth Thomas have received to those that Justin Fashanu received, it's hard to deny that progress has been made. I wouldn't say that it's accepted, because the cases are rare. Examples such as Gareth Thomas and Ian Roberts both came out very late in their careers, while Burke was out very early in his (sadly curtailed) career.
But it's worth remembering that Obree is four years younger than Fashanu, and at the time at which he was active, the hounding and abuse Fashanu was taking was still going on.
- Mar 10, 2009
- 9,245
- 23
- 17,530
Jamsque said:I remember being really disappointed when he called off his most recent hour attempt, the bike he built for it was just incredible. He whittled the seat post and aero bars out of blocks of solid aluminium.
[edit] Found the CN article : http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/graeme-obrees-amazing-bicycle
The thing is gorgeous, I would kill for a chance to ride that bike (although I probably couldn't turn that gear if my life depended on it)
I'm glad that he has found peace in his life after the years of frustration and inner torment.
How many teeth on that chainring?
- Apr 13, 2010
- 1,239
- 0
- 10,480
Angliru said:
Can't count that high... Is it just me or is that ring larger than the wheels?
I like that there are still several (tiny) rings on the back wheel - just so you can change from crazy to uber-crazy to ludicrous...
JPM London said:
As I mentioned in an earlier post he broke the 10 and 50 mile records in one weekend on a fixed. I forget what gear he was on, but think it was something like 53x12! After the 10 record he said he'd struggled going out into a headwind, but then was over-revving on the way back! He did 18:27 for the 10, and 1:39:01 for the 50.
- Apr 1, 2009
- 330
- 0
- 0
Blimey, this is like reading an obit, the guy has come out and not died. Really dont understand what this has to do with a cycling forum.
As a fellow Bipolar sufferer, Graeme O'Bree has always been someone who I admire because of what he did despite of his demons. This latest announcement has increased my respect for the man. Regardless of if this is a sporting issue or not, or whether it is a relevant issue or not, I for one wish him all the best in a somewhat new chapter in his life.
- Jun 16, 2009
- 3,035
- 0
- 0
FignonLeGrand said:
I think that the answer to that is that on the face of it, you are correct it doesn't. However if you look at it in terms of knock-on effects then it is something worthy of being talked about (appropriately).
Obree is one of the most impressive and interesting cyclists in the last few decades given his combination of amazing riding, inventive skill, and personality difficulties (I'll use that term because we generally had no idea what the source of his internal conflicts were.
He retired, came close to successfully committing suicide, announced a comeback, then decided to stay retired.
The fact that one of the underlying issues he was dealing with all this time was that he was gay and had not realised/accepted it makes this announcement something worthy of discussion.
- Jun 16, 2009
- 19,654
- 2
- 0
So can someone explain to me why someone coming out and saying he is gay warrants a thread? Is it really for us to discuss and why does one have to publicly come out and say they are gay? Is it so they are publically validated and accepted in the public arena?
Quite often they have to come out in a public manner to stop other papers running tell all stories that put them in a bad light. A positive story can quickly be made a negative one.
Why does it matter? It matters a lot because it can make the sport more inclusive. We still live in a world where public figures are afraid to reveal that their sexuality might be different to what it is assumed to be. How many times has a public figure denied denied and denied only to be forced to reveal the truth?
It matters because homophobia in sport is a dreadful and massive thing thing and given how much cycling played in Obree's life it undoubtedly this would have been a reason for keeping quiet.
Why does it matter? It matters a lot because it can make the sport more inclusive. We still live in a world where public figures are afraid to reveal that their sexuality might be different to what it is assumed to be. How many times has a public figure denied denied and denied only to be forced to reveal the truth?
It matters because homophobia in sport is a dreadful and massive thing thing and given how much cycling played in Obree's life it undoubtedly this would have been a reason for keeping quiet.
- Jun 16, 2009
- 3,035
- 0
- 0
auscyclefan94 said:
Clearly you didnt bother reading the thread before you posted that. Have a look at the post above yours for the majority of the answer to your question (which had itself been asked already)
TRENDING THREADS
-
Amstel Gold Race 2025, one day classic, April 20 (men's)- Started by Lequack
- Replies: 810
-
Paris-Roubaix 2025, one day monument, April 13 (men)- Started by Krzysztof_O
- Replies: 2K
-
-
Ronde van Vlaanderen 2025, one day monument, April 6 (men's)- Started by Lequack
- Replies: 2K
-
Itzulia Basque Country 2025, April 7th-12th- Started by Samu Cuenca
- Replies: 1K
-
-
Teams & Riders The Remco Evenepoel is the next Eddy Merckx thread- Started by DNP-Old
- Replies: 29K
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram