Australian cricket star Elyse Villani opens up about what being gay means for her as a pro athlete
ELYSE Villani is one of the stars of Australia’s World Cup campaign. She’s also one of the country’s most prominent gay athletes and won’t take either title lightly.
FOR most people, changing their Twitter profile is not a significant milestone.
And then there’s Australian Women’s Cricket player Elyse Villani, who made the decision to add the line ‘Proud Gay Athlete’ to her social media accounts.
She didn’t gauge the opinion of all her friends and family before hitting the edit button. She just did what she felt was important “so if someone looked me up, (and) they needed to know someone else was in the same boat as them then that’s what they could find”.
“I certainly am not going out there and necessarily waving any flags,” Villani explained to the Australian Cricket Podcast this week.
“I just want to always be true to myself and make sure that other people are comfortable to be themselves whatever that is and wherever that is.”
LIVE stream the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup on FOX SPORTS. Get a free 2-week Foxtel Now trial now & stream LIVE within minutes. SIGN UP NOW >
Villani has represented Australia in 69 matches in all three formats of the game and is an unassuming and courageous role model.
She is one of very few openly gay athletes to represent Australia at a World Cup and at last year’s Rio Olympics there was only one openly gay Australian athlete, Matilda Michelle Heyman.
You can listen to the full interview on the Australian Cricket Podcast here or iTunes.
Villani took some time out of her busy World Cup Campaign to speak on the Australian Cricket Podcast and says she made the decision to come out publicly after being on the sporting float at the 2015 Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras with fellow Australian Women’s cricketer Alex Blackwell.
“I just thought it was a really significant step that we were both a part of that and I felt really strongly about I guess just being really honest,” she said.
Blackwell, the Australian Women’s Vice-captain, was the first openly gay Australian cricketer to wear the baggy green and Villani has no regrets about the decision to follow in her footsteps.
“If it means if I am being true to myself all I have to worry about is playing cricket,” she said.
Her decision to come out publicly displayed the sort of grit and determination that has seen her bounce back from an early career axing to now feature at the top of Australian Women’s cricket.
But how important is it to be one of the few openly gay athletes to represent Australia at a World Cup?
“It is really important for me personally to always be myself, I know growing up I felt quite different as a young kid,” she explains.
“It would have been really helpful for me growing up to think there was someone just like me out there performing at the top level of their chosen sport.
“It’s always important for me to try and be myself and that’s something I try and live by.”
Villani’s story delivers a positive of message of acceptance and celebration within the Australian Women’s cricket team culture.
She says she’s received great support from Cricket Australia and the Western Australian Cricket Association, her home state.
“We really celebrate every single person’s difference and their uniqueness and what makes them contribute different things to the team,” she explained.
“I’m really lucky in that I am really well supported to be myself.
“It means that if I’m being true to myself, that all I have to worry about is playing cricket. That’s hard enough without hiding parts of yourself.”
During this Women’s Cricket World Cup, Villani must be applauded for putting herself forward as a role model for all types of Australian athletes.
Villani said it best “I just always want to be true to myself so that other people I guess are comfortable to be themselves whatever that is and wherever that is”.
Originally published as Australian cricket star Elyse Villani opens up about what being gay means for her as a pro athlete