Two men associated with gay sports are among the 7,300 torch bearers selected to carry the Olympic torch throughout Britain in the run-up to the the Summer Games. Tim Sullivan, chairman of London’s gay rugby team King’s Cross Steelers, and Chris Basiurski, who heads the Gay Football Supporters’ Network, will be among those carrying the torch in the 70-day event.
“I am delighted and humbled at being chosen to carry the Olympic flame,” Basiurski told Pink News. “For many years LGBT footballers have been on the fringes of society and at the GFSN we have worked hard to send out the message that football is for all regardless of sexual orientation.
“I am delighted and humbled at being chosen to carry the Olympic flame,” Basiurski told Pink News. “For many years LGBT footballers have been on the fringes of society and at the GFSN we have worked hard to send out the message that football is for all regardless of sexual orientation.
“When I first came out I remember being told by my University LGBT society that I needed to ‘drop the ridiculous straight obsession’ with football if I was going to be happy in the gay world. I am really proud that the GFSN has helped change this attitude and that the UK’s LGBT footballing community is so strong. I am very excited!”
Sullivan said “I think I’ve been chosen because the Steelers are so diverse as a team.” He told Gay Star News that while he’s excited to be carrying the torch, he’s more focused on helping the Steelers win this year’s Bingham Cup in Manchester, England.
