Australian cricketer James Faulkner clarifies after being misunderstood as gay
James Faulkner
Australian cricketer James Faulkner Tuesday cleared the air after being misunderstood as gay when he shared a picture with his "best mate" on the occasion of his 29th birthday.
On Monday, the Australian cricketer shared a photo posing with his mother and friend Rob Jubb. The caption read, "Birthday dinner with the boyfriend (best mate!!!)" and added #togetherfor5years with his post.
The caption led many to think that Faulkner has revealed his sexual orientation and was widely interpreted as a landmark coming-out statement.
The post prompted hundreds of positive messages, including from fellow Australian cricketers Glenn Maxwell, Brett Lee and Shaun Tait.
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Maxwell said, "Happy Birthday mate! Great courage."
"Great courage mate, bet u feel better," Tait wrote.
But as reaction to Faulkner's post gained momentum, he took to social media again saying "there seems to be a misunderstanding".
"I am not gay... (Jubb) is just a great friend. Last night marked five years of being house mates!" he wrote.
He also praised the response to the coming-out that never was.
"It has been fantastic to see the support from and for the LBGT community. Let's never forget love is love," he wrote.
Cricket Australia denied Faulkner's post was a misguided attempt at humour, saying both the player and the organisation recognised coming out could be "an incredibly emotional time".
"The post was not in any way meant to make light of this and, though the support from the community was overwhelming and positive, Cricket Australia apologises for any unintended offence," it said.
Faulkner has played one Test, 69 one-dayers and 24 Twenty20 matches for Australia, last representing his country in late 2017.
He was man-of-the-match when Australia won the Cricket World Cup final against New Zealand in 2015, taking three crucial wickets.
Faulkner still plays T20 for the Hobart Hurricanes in Australia and Lancashire in England.
The incident comes as Australian rugby moves to sack Wallabies star Israel Folau over a social media post saying "hell awaits" gays, with the matter set to go before a code of conduct hearing this weekend.
(with inputs from AFP)