A day after the internet judged Australian Cricketer James Faulkner’s sexuality based on one Instagram post, the out of favour all-rounder has come out to deny the reports saying he is gay, again in an Instagram post.
In his post, Faulkner said that there seems to be a misunderstanding about his last night’s post, further thanking the support he got from fans as well as the LGBTQ community. Faulkner said that the “#togetherfor5years” hashtag was marking five years of living with his housemate and friend Rob Jubb.
“Let’s never forget love is love, however @robjubbsta is just a great friend. Last night marked five years of being house mates! Good on everyone for being so supportive.”James Faulkner, Australian Cricketer
His earlier post, marking Faulkner’s 29th birthday, was misinterpreted by the media as a post revealing his sexuality.
The World Cup winning cricketer had, on Monday 29 April shared a photograph of himself having dinner with his mother Roslyn Carol Faulkner and his house mate, Rob Jubb.
"Birthday dinner with the boyfriend @robjubbsta and my mother @roslyn_carol_faulkner #togetherfor5years," read the caption.
A veteran of one Test, 69 ODIs and 24 T20 internationals, Faulkner had last donned the Aussie baggy green in a T20 match against Sri Lanka at the Adelaide on 22 February, 2017. The all-rounder had won the Man of the Match award in the 2015 World Cup final which Australia had won by beating New Zealand by 7 wickets.
In 2011, former England international Steven Davies became the sport's first active professional player to announce that he is gay. The wicketkeeper-batsman, who played 8 ODIs and 5 T20Is for England, made his revelations in a newspaper interview with The Daily Telegraph.
On 9 July 2018, South Africa women's cricket team captain Dane van Niekerk and teammate Marizanne Kapp tied the knot, becoming the second couple among the current batch of international cricketers to get married after New Zealand's Amy Satterthwaite and Lea Tahuhu.
After four years of courtship, Kiwi women cricketers Satterthwaite and Tahuhu got engaged in 2014 before getting married in March 2017.
More recently, on 19 April, two women cricketers tied the knot after New Zealand batswoman Hayley Jensen, who has played 8 ODIs and 20 T20Is, married uncapped Australian cricketer Nicola Hancock.
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