Former Welsh rugby referee Nigel Owens has revealed a hateful and homophobic letter was sent to his house by a steel worker.
It comes just days after the legendary referee was banned from Facebook for simply sharing more homophobic abuse he has received. He has since been allowed to return to the social media platform after the issue was resolved.
Owens came out as gay in 2007 and was followed by former Wales captain Gareth Thomas in 2009. Thomas also revealed he was HIV positive in 2019.
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Now, Owens has shared the letter publicly on Twitter with the caption: "I’ve thought long and hard about posting this letter I received in the post a few weeks ago singed by a steel worker. But unless we start calling out these kind of people nothing will change. It hurts and there is no need for all this hate. #BeKind"
The horrific letter reads as follows.
"The Bible says 'Man shall not lie with man nor women with woman, it's an abomination.'
"'Nor should men dress in women's clothing, nor women with men's' What do you think AIDS is?
"It is god's punishment to the sodomites. Forget that people pretend to accept you because they don't. The same goes for Gareth Thomas. His team mates think he is disgusting. He too is being punished by God.
"Only a queer would buy a Korean car. You should be ashamed."
Grand Slam-winner Thomas claimed in the replies that the person behind the letter is actually a repeat offender.
"He's a serial writer, butt," he said. He writes those kinds of letters to everyone, good on you for calling him out."
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