Kane Evans's coming out hailed as life-saving

Sydney Roosters great Anthony Minichiello says Kane Evans "may have just saved many lives" by becoming the second NRL player in Australian history to come out as gay.

In an emotional interview with Nine's 100% Footy yesterday, the 34-year-old detailed his struggle with being in denial about his sexuality during his NRL career.

"I had three goals in life; it was to play NRL, to buy my parents a house, and then I was going to top myself," he said.

Evans said he had been locked in a private battle about his sexuality since he was 15 and at times had turned to alcohol and drugs.

He said his substance abuse led him to couch surf and sleep in parks, which ultimately left him wanting to die.

Minichiello captained the Roosters when Evans made his NRL debut with the team in 2014.

Minichiello told 702 ABC Sydney he was confident Evans would have had the support of the team if he had disclosed his sexuality when he was starting out in his NRL career, but appreciated he "wasn't ready when he was playing footy".

He said the NRL had come a long way and was hopeful Evans's decision to speak about his sexuality and his mental health struggles would give confidence to other people who may be in a similar situation.

"He talked about, you know, ending his life, which is horrible. And we don't want that to happen at all. And we don't want others to think that if they're in that same situation," he said.

"So I think for Kane coming out and talking about it may have just saved many lives."

Evans is the second professional rugby league player in Australian history to publicly come out, after Ian Roberts in 1995.

He said coming out was his worst nightmare, but said: "I know if I surrender then it's a start to a new life."

"I'm here today to show people that, you know, you don't have to live like that. Even now, I feel a bit more free just by saying it out loud."

'Changing culture comes from the top'

Ex-AFL player Mitch Brown, who is openly bisexual, praised Evans for his vulnerability in an environment that is "ultimately considered tough".

"What Kane has done and did last night, I think will do so much," the former West Coast Eagles player said.

"The one thing that happens is a lot of players, a lot of men players in these spaces, these hyper-masculine sports spaces like rugby and football, you'll never know the impact that you'll cause because a lot of players will remain closeted."

He said to shift attitudes around homophobia and to allow players to feel safe coming out, change was needed from the top down.

"It comes from not just one player or outspoken past players, like myself. It comes from leaders."

Pride Cup chief executive Hayley Conway said there was no question that clubs, leagues and associations at every level of sport needed to be doing more to make sure all people felt safe and belonged.

She said it was critical that codes and clubs be vocal and stand behind any player who wanted to be honest about who they were.

"To choose to speak to that, and to speak to that whole truth, I think is a really powerful thing to do … so just a huge congratulations to [Evans] and all of the support, from the LGBTQ community for that as well."

The Fijian-Australian played 74 games for the Roosters before joining the Parramatta Eels in 2018.

In recent years, the NRL and AFL have investigated and reprimanded players for homophobic slurs used on the field.