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Rugby club owners quit over homophobic abuse

The owners of a rugby league club are to step aside at the end of the season, citing "constant" homophobic abuse and financial pressures.

Kaue Garcia and Ryan O'Neill took ownership of Keighley Cougars seven years ago, with the aim of transforming the club into an inclusive space for the LGBT+ community.

But they said after the 2023 season the "volume and intensity of the abuse became overwhelming", leaving both in need of anti-anxiety medication.

O'Neill said: "I'm very sad to be leaving, it's like my family in a way, but we've got to take care of ourselves."

Since becoming owners in Keighley, the married pair have taken steps to show their commitment to the LGBT+ community.

They have staged an annual Pride match and created the sport's first Pride Terrace where fans could support the team in an environment "free from prejudice".

Rainbow flags fly atop their Cougar Park stadium year-round.

'It's exhausting'

In a statement, Garcia and O'Neill said they had both experienced "periods of immense stress and emotional exhaustion", adding: "At times, the pressure became incredibly difficult to cope, so much so that we just wanted to up and disappear."

Garcia said: "Since day one, our sexuality always comes at play.

"It's always the reason for a loss [and] always something defining how the club is being led in the wrong way."

O'Neill said he had been subject to verbal abuse in supermarkets, death threats, had his car vandalised more than once and was physically abused at a match last season.

He added: "It seems there's a group of people who just want to hate us, and anything we do, they jump on. It's exhausting.

"When we took over, we were young, enthusiastic, excited but [the abuse] grinds you down and this past month has been pretty bad."

Garcia and O'Neill said mounting financial pressures and changes to the league structure making promotion "almost impossible" had also contributed to their decision.

The team enjoyed an unbeaten run in 2022, winning promotion to the Championship but have struggled this season with news of the pair's departure coming after Keighley's fifth straight loss in the league.

Despite the abuse, the pair still hold fond memories of their seven years at Cougar Park.

Garcia said: "We created this environment, but we needed the people to buy into the message, and that doesn't go unnoticed."

He said he had received direct messages from fans and thanked them for their support.

O'Neill said they had made "friends for life" during their tenure at the club and that a group of fans had driven an hour to their house, just outside Leeds, to deliver chocolates and give them a supportive hug after the news was announced.

"That is just testament to how wonderful these guys are," he said.

O'Neill said the proudest part of his work had been speaking to young people who had approached the owners to confide about their sexuality, and to later see them "out and proud".

"That makes me extremely proud, because it means that, at times the abuse is worth it."

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