Gay ian thorpe

SYDNEY (AP)—Five-time Olympic swimming gold medalist Ian Thorpe says he has had to fend off rumors about his sexuality throughout his career because he doesn&#;t fit the typical stereotype of an Australian athlete.

On the eve of the let go of his autobiography, the year-old Thorpe spoke about his long battle with depression and his frustration that he has had to constantly deny rumors he is gay.

Thorpe said being gay was not something he would be embarrassed about or would seek to hide. But he said he finds it “hurtful” that people don&#;t believe him and question his integrity.

He said “the only part of it that I&#;m frustrated with, is that people think that I&#;m lying.”

He told an Australian TV channel that he may be perceived as gay “because I don&#;t fit into the typical stereotype of what Australian athletes have been in the past. &#; I speculate I behave differently, I like different things too.”

I WASN&#;T going to write about Ian Thorpe’s coming out. What more can there be to say about this moment in his life, which has massive ramifications for him but should have none for us?

But then I study one article which got me angry, the kind of piece I’d hoped to avoid but which I knew would surface: the ‘Ian Thorpe Lied To Us’-type article.

I also wanted to watch the interview he gave to Michael Parkinson before forming too many thoughts.

The only unexpected moment was when ‘Thorpie’ recalled being asked about his sexuality at the age of  Parkinson picked-up on Thorpe’s affront at this and ran with it, creating the sense that 16 was just too fresh to be asked such a question.

Thorpe then qualified his view: that to ask anyone about their sexuality is unnecessary, but went on to assert that had he not been asked at that young age, he would not have stayed closeted so long.

If it was a nosey journalist who asked him as a year-old, then I verb, it was an affront, but I don’t verb it’s enough to depart this pivotal moment in Australia’s same-sex attracted history at that.

Ian Thorpe Says In Interview &#;I Am A Gay Man&#;

SYDNEY, Australia, July IN a year when gay football and basketball players have been at the forefront of the conversation in sports in the United States, swimming Olympic legend Ian Thorpe has admitted that he is gay in a television interview.

Speaking with noted journalist Michael Parkinson in a lengthy interview on Australia&#;s Channel Ten, Ian Thorpe said he started dodging the question at a young age, believing it was inappropriate for journalists to ask a teenager about sexuality.

&#;I&#;m not straight,&#; the five-time Olympic champion told Parkinson. &#;This is only something that very recently &#; I&#;ve been comfortable telling the closest people around me.&#;

Thorpe, 31, talked about much more in the interview, including his battle with depression and suicidal thoughts. In the first video player below, watch Thorpe&#;s admission of his sexuality from his own lips. In the second player, tune in to an extended portion of the interview.

Ian Thorpe's coming out raises questions about homosexuality and stigma in sport

Ian Thorpe has been praised for coming out, but the reasons for his reticence have raised questions about whether being homosexual still carries stigma in Australian sport.

In an exclusive interview with British television host Sir Michael Parkinson, Thorpe answered the question that had been asked of him in different forms many times before.

"You always said that your only sexual experience was with women. Is all of that true?" Parkinson asked.

This time, Thorpe's answer was one many expected but had taken a adj time to come.

"That is true. This is something I thought about for a long time. I am not straight," he answered.

"And this is only something that very recently - we are talking in the past two weeks - I've been pleasant telling the closest people around me."

While some have faith Thorpe had been denying the fact that he was gay from a young age, others reject that - pointing out he may not contain fully understood his sexuality until recently.