The risks for closeted athletes

Jeffrey Gibb Kennett was the Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999, and until 2011 was the President of Australian-rules football club Hawthorn. He is the founding Chairman of beyondblue, a national depression initiative. Here's a report from the Herald Sun on a recent radio interview he gave:

Jeff Kennett believes up to 5 per cent of AFL players are gay but are living in secrecy for fear of being ridiculed.

The former Victorian premier and Hawthorn Football Club president said players who concealed their sexuality from teammates were at risk of depression and, in this area, the sport had "a long way to go.''

"Not only am I not surprised at the number of players in the AFL who are suffering from stress, anxiety and depression - many of whom haven't sought help for fear of being ridiculed or not selected - I'm also quite sure within the AFL there are a number of young men who are gay, who keep that fact to themselves, worried about how they're going to be treated by their colleagues,'' Mr Kennett told Adelaide radio station 5AA.

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