Aussie Cricket Star Accidentally 'Comes Out'... and Isn't Gay
James Faulkner, a star cricket player from Australia, thrilled the world when he came out with an Instagram post of himself and another man with the hashtag "#together5years."
But when congratulations started pouring in from fans who celebrated his coming out, Faulkner, who is actually heterosexual, set about setting the record... um, straight. He clarified that the man who appears in the photo with himself and his mother is his friend and housemate — not a lover.
Of course, it's hard to fault all those eager fans, given that Faulkner called his best friend his "boyfriend." Faulkner amended the post in order to clarify.
When it came time for the do-over, Faulkner tried to let all those throbbing hearts down gently.
"There seems to be a misunderstanding about my post from last night, I am not gay," he posted, before going on to add, "however it has been fantastic to see the support from and for the LGBT community."
Not to mention his fellow athletes, some of whom commented on his post about his "courage" and expressed their support and happiness. There were also a number of less supportive reactions and a few that seemed to assume that Faulkner had come out only to get cold feet and immediately hopped back in the closet. But the athlete himself remained upbeat about the inadvertent "coming out" moment.
"Let's never forget love is love, however, @robjubbsta is just a great friend," Faulkner went on to say. "Last night marked five years of being housemates! Good on everyone for being so supportive."
To those who took offense, feeling that Faulkner was "joking" at their expense, Cricket Australia tendered apologies, the BBC reported.
"Cricket Australia does not consider the social commentary this morning from James Faulkner to be a joke, nor does James," CA said in a statement.
"His comment was made as a genuine reflection of his relationship with his business partner, best friend and housemate of five years. He was not contacted for clarification before some outlets reported his Instagram post as an announcement of a homosexual relationship," the statement went on to say.
"James and CA are supportive of the LGBQTI community and recognizes coming out can be an incredibly emotional time," the statement added. "The post was not in any way meant to make light of this."