Gareth Thomas, the former British and Irish Lions rugby captain, has said he has been "spat at in the street" and told he should die amid allegations he is a HIV-spreader.
A case to be heard at the High Court will reportedly hear how Mr Thomas admitted he did not tell a former partner that he was HIV positive when starting a relationship, according to documents seen by the Mail on Sunday.
The Welsh rugby star, who is a leading advocate for the HIV community, behaved "deceptively" and "failed to take reasonable care" to ensure he did not pass on the disease, according to papers lodged in the High Court.
Mr Thomas tweeted:
Since the meritless allegations surfaced, I have endured a challenging torrent of abuse both online and in person. I’ve been spat at in the street, called a f*king AIDS spreader, told I should be locked up, that I should die, and much worse.
— Gareth Thomas (@gareththomas14) September 6, 2022
He went on: "That being said, I also feel extremely fortunate and I want to thank people for the incredible wave of support they have shown me both personally and professionally at this time. It has been empowering.
"I am proud of who I am. I am far from perfect, but I am also far from the person I’m accused of being.
"I am comfortable in my position and my defence speaks for itself.
"I will continue to fight these allegations and proudly continue my advocacy work undeterred with the same passion as always."
Mr Thomas, 48, is being sued by Ian Baum, 59, who claims he only discovered the former Wales and Lions captain was HIV-positive when he found his antiviral medication.
Mr Baum, a private carer who started an on-off relationship with Mr Thomas in 2013, alleges he then took an HIV test, which came back positive, and confronted his partner, who was "very repentant and apologetic".
He is suing the former player for a six-figure sum for serious physical and mental injury, including loss of life expectancy of six to eight years.
Mr Thomas denies he "lied" about his condition because he was never asked by his former partner about HIV, according to the Mail.
The paper also reported that the couple did not have sex for four months after getting together because the former Wales captain had "sustained an injury", and that Mr Baum's "blasé" attitude about contracting HIV meant "that he was bound to get HIV sooner or later".
It has also emerged that Mr Thomas was the subject of an investigation by Thames Valley Police following a complaint of grievous bodily harm (GBH) between December 2013 and June 2014. However, this was wound up in 2018 because of insufficient evidence.
GBH is the offence under which others who have previously been accused of passing on HIV while not disclosing their status have been prosecuted.
Mr Thomas is expected to vigorously contest the allegations.
He came out as gay in 2009 after retiring from rugby and revealed he had HIV in 2019.
He is a patron of the Terrence Higgins Trust and also sits on the HIV Commission, which aims to end new cases in England by 2030.
Mr Thomas played 100 games for Wales, 42 of them as captain, and scored 40 tries
He led Wales to their first Grand Slam of the professional era in 2005, the same year he represented the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand.
Mr Thomas captained the Test side when Brian O'Driscoll was sent home with an injury.
His 12-year international career ended on a sour note, when his 100th and final cap resulted in Wales being dumped out of the 2007 World Cup in the group stages thanks to a shock defeat to Fiji.
Mr Thomas started his rugby career at Pencoed, before spells at Bridgend, Cardiff RFC, the now-defunct Celtic Warriors and top French side Toulouse before returning to the Welsh capital to see out his playing days.
