Australian woman cricketer Megan Schutt has slammed the myths surrounding same-sex relationships in women's sport. Schutt, who is one of the most vocal openly gay players, married her long-time girlfriend Jess Holyoake in 2019, and the pair also have a one-year-old daughter, Rylee.
The 30-year-old has been championing about the rights of gay sportspersons. During an interview with Insight Sport, Schutt hit out at those who claim "coercion" is behind the higher rate of gay athletes in team sports.
"Some a******s can say the things like, 'you've been coerced because your teammates are same sex'. Coercion — everyone in cricket is gay, that's why you're gay. That comes back to thinking that gay is a choice. Which, obviously, it is not," Daily Telegraph quoted Schutt as saying to Insight Sport.
Schutt suggested that many people still need to be educated about the issue. "The old standard reply when someone comes out with 'it's 2023, no one cares, you don't need to come out' ... actually, it does f*****g matter, because there's still kids out there that would rather be dead than gay," sh added.
While pointing out the fact that women's sport is far more advanced and inclusive, Schutt hopes to see the same for male athletes sooner, rather than later. "As I said, gay women have it easier and until men can feel comfortable that's going to be the true barometer really," Schutt further stated.
