'Joke taken out of context': James Faulkner clarifies 'coming out' post
Cricket Australia has clarified that James Faulkner's Instagram post on Monday night was taken out of context.
Many fans interpreted a post marking his 29th birthday on Monday night as the cricket star coming out and revealing a five-year relationship with a man.
“Birthday dinner with the boyfriend (best mate!!!) @robjubbsta and my mother @roslyn_carol_faulkner #togetherfor5years,” he wrote.
The story went global as a number of Indian outlets and LGBT sports websites ran headlines overnight.
Even cricketers were caught by the caption, with Glenn Maxwell, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Jofra Archer commenting words of support.
But CA said on Tuesday it was "misinterpreted".
"This is a joke that has been taken out of context," a spokesman said.
The man is a friend and business partner and appears in a number of older posts on Faulkner’s Instagram.
Faulkner had already attempted to clarify the situation by editing '(best mate!!!)' into his caption of the birthday dinner.
I think people need to calm down about James Faulkner coming out. He was, I’m told, using boyfriend in that inverted comma way women do for girlfriends. it’s his best mate. He didn’t mean to wind people up.
— Peter Lalor (@plalor) April 29, 2019
Many fans thought Faulkner had become the first Australian male cricketer to come out publicly, following in the footsteps of some of his female counterparts.
Earlier this month, Melbourne Stars youngster Nicola Hancock married New Zealand international Hayley Jensen.
