Tue 28 Feb 2012 In: Hall of Fame View at Wayback View at NDHA
While the dream of an openly-gay All Black role model remains just that, a dream, progress is being made in some sports in New Zealand. We chat to the nation’s leading American Football referee Stephen Bowness, who just happens to be gay! Worldwide, more and more professional sportsmen and referees in the sports New Zealand holds most dear are starting to come out. The most high-profile are rugby-turned-league player Gareth Thomas, English cricketer Steven Davies, rugby referee Nigel Owens and NRL ref Matt Cecchin. While we have always had a steady stream of out, proud and inspiring female athletes, when it comes to gay men in New Zealand sport the progress seems to be in lesser-known and less-intensely-monitored codes like the cliché: equestrian, and more recently speed-skating, where Blake Skjellerup is leading the charge as an out, proud, young, gay sportsman. Stephen Bowness in action In another code (which is obviously not ‘minor’ in America but definitely so when it comes to player numbers in New Zealand) American Football, we find referee Stephen Bowness, a ‘gridiron’ devotee who is also the Musical Director of GALS, Auckland’s Gay and Lesbian Singers. Originally from Nottinghamshire, the 46-year-old moved to New Zealand in 1982 and so now considers himself an Aucklander. He first started watching American Football when TV3 came on the scene in 1989. “They would show a weekly highlights package. Then, when Sky arrived, they were showing two NFL matches and at least one college match each week,” he recalls. He became hooked and it tied in with his love for refereeing, which stemmed from his school years. “I wasn’t terribly inclined to sport and one of my teachers, in a brave attempt to get me out there, persuaded me to start umpiring cricket when I was 14 as well as some touch judging in rugby,” he says. “I did cricket for a number of years, working Premier games in Auckland, until I developed colitis in my 20s which stopped me.” By the time he had surgery to correct it he was an American Football devotee, and became a referee. Seventeen years on and he is still going. Just this past weekend he was in charge of a rain-sodden junior world cup qualifier between American Samoa and Australia on the Gold Coast (with American Samoa smashing their hosts 93-7). It was the first time a New Zealander has ever been in charge of an international match. “Surprisingly, for the officials it’s quite a cerebral sport. The rules are quite intricate and require constant study. On the field, we can have anything between four and seven officials, each of whom have their own responsibilities and zones of coverage,” he explains. “We need to be able to trust each other to do our jobs to avoid doubling up. Ball watching is a real mistake (unless it’s your responsibility) as there is a lot of off-the-ball action to cover. As such, you build up relationships with the people you work with each week.” When asked whether he’s always been out in the sport, Bowness replies he’s never been “in”. “I’ve not made a secret of being gay,” he says, explaining it’s a bit difficult to do so when you have a visible position as he does with GALS. “But I haven’t gone out of my way to publicise the fact either. All of my colleagues know as do a number of players.” But being out, or not being 'in', has never, ever been tough for Bowness. “My colleagues have never treated it as anything other than normal. They were particularly encouraging when I checked with them before giving this interview,” he says. “One year, I was working a game on my birthday and the players jokingly offered me a visit to the changing room after the game. It was all done in the best possible taste but I gently declined their kind offer.” Bowness can appreciate how tough it can be for gay players and refs who are in the closet. “In the so-called ‘macho’ sports there is the implication that you cannot and must not be gay,” he says, pointing out that there are currently no out players in the four major professional US sports; American Football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey. “And Football has a major problem with homophobia, particularly in England,” he says. “In my case, most of the players are significantly bigger than me and could certainly make life very tough for me if they chose to do so. However, those people who have come out have generally spoken of the positive outcomes of it, even allowing for the personal costs of doing so at times.” He is hopeful things will change over the next ten years or so, pointing to progress already in the ‘macho’ sports through the likes of Thomas, Owens and Cecchin. “Anyone who visits the Outsports website will know that there has been a groundswell of people coming out in all sports. A number of NFL teams have said that they support and encourage equality, although the NFL itself has not made any statement. “However, we need more groundbreakers and a concerted effort from those who run the sports to modify the behaviour of the ignorant before we can no longer feel that a gay or lesbian player coming out is a newsworthy event.” Jacqui Stanford - 28th February 2012