Campbell Johnstone makes rugby history as first All Black to come out as gay
Seven Sharp television programme on Monday, January 30.When talking about his decision to come out now, the 43-year-old shared that he wanted to help take the pressure and stigma off of other players.The All Blacks, New Zealand’s national rugby squad and arguably one of the most successful sports teams in history, first selected Johnstone in 2005, and he went on to win a total of three caps.
At club level, he made 62 appearances for Canterbury and 38 for the Crusaders over several years.He confessed that during the early stages of his career, he struggled with an internal conflict between his sexuality and what he thought an All Black was supposed to represent.
He shared that he often felt like he was living a double life, saying, “My view of an All Black was manly, strong, possibly with a wife and kids…[so] I pushed that side of me down deeper and deeper”.Over time, he felt comfortable sharing his queer identity with his family and close friends.
He said, “It was pretty much like telling them I just ran out of milk, one of them was like, yeah it’s about time”.Johnstone says that only telling close friends about his sexuality was the right decision at the time, but he’s choosing to publicly come out now because he knows he can help other players by removing some of the stigma and pressure they may feel.
