Jack Dunne. (David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile via Getty)
Professional rugby player Jack Dunne has proudly come out as bisexual, revealing that he has been open in his personal life for a number of years.
The Leinster player opened up about his sexuality on the BBC’s LGBT Sports Podcast, telling host Jack Murley that hearing homophobic and biphobic language at school made it more difficult for him to come out.
Jack Dunne told Murley that he first started to realise he was bisexual when he was aged 15, but being surrounded by other teenage boys every day and hearing barbed comments about sexuality sent him a “subconscious” message that he should keep it to himself.
“When you’re bisexual it’s almost a blessing and a curse because you can hide it way easier – you can still go out with the lads on Saturday night and do all that stuff, but then at the same time it’s easier to hide it and it’s easier to not be true to yourself,” Dunne explained.
“So eventually, I think it was in sixth year, and I told one or two people and they took it really well, so I was like, you know what, I’ll just tell everyone and if someone has a problem with it, that’s on them.”
Coming out “went pretty well” for Dunne, but he did get some people interrogating him on whether he was actually gay.
Despite this, most reactions were “overwhelmingly positive” and coming out was “a massive weight” off his shoulders.
Rugby pro Jack Dunne wasn’t afraid to call out his friends for claiming he was secretly gay
Ultimately, he lost touch with one friend who was adamant that he was actually gay and not bisexual.
“Yeah it’s weird cause you’re like, how do you have any opinions on this?” Jack Dunne said.
“You have no idea, why are you saying this? When I came out, I didn’t know that this was going to possibly be a problem that I would face because you never think, ‘Oh maybe bisexual people don’t exist,’ when you are because it’s not something that’s on your radar, it’s never something that crossed my mind.”
Dunne made a conscious decision to hold those who said he was secretly gay to account, and most were apologetic and understanding once he called them out.
Because Dunne came out as bisexual in school, he never had a big “coming out” moment when he was signed as a professional player for Leinster in 2020.
Word gradually spread about his sexuality, meaning his teammates were already aware that he was openly bisexual. He hasn’t faced any biphobic comments from teammates and nothing has ever been said to him on the pitch about his sexuality.