In honour of Pride month, RUCK wanted to celebrate five out and proud rugby stars. Their focus? How we can collectively align to take action that drives change on and off the pitch.
#1. Devin Ibañez
American rugby union player who came out as gay in 2020. He is an advocate for inclusion and diversity in the sport.
A self-described “rugby maniac,” Ibañez played in college for the University of Massachusetts, and in his coming out message posted photos with his boyfriend Fergus Wade, an English medical student he met in 2017 while Wade was doing research at Harvard studying sleep deprivation in fruit flies.
Posting the photos on his coming out story added power to his desire be his authentic self. He created his Instagram account yesterday as “thatgayrugger,” since he is one of the very few openly gay pro rugby players, past or present.