Members of Australia’s national field hockey team have sported rainbow socks to mark Pride month – and support a gay teammate. 

Davis Atkin was accidentally outed as gay to his coach at the University of Canberra by a team psychologist in 2021. The following year he told Outsports: “Last year, I was in a pretty dark place.” 

The midfielder has now played for the Kookaburras 20 times, including in the 4-3 win over England in an FIH Pro League game on Saturday. A photo of the team posted on Instagram revealed they were all wearing Pride rainbow socks. 

Atkin told Hockey Australia: “I said to the boys this morning that I really appreciate everyone being as inclusive as they are, and this was as simple as wearing socks. It paves the way for other people to follow that journey as a high-performance athlete.

“If I had grown up and seen my heroes run out in rainbow socks, that would have been immense, showing me that people at the top level are like me.”

Now 24, Atkin also posed with a Pride flag around his shoulders, and captioned the photo: “Being able to run out on to the pitch with Pride socks together as a team was something truly special. The inclusivity, the support and the joy in this group made it all feel surreal.

“You can’t be what you can’t see, and even something as simple as rainbow socks can be a powerful sign to someone out there that they are seen, valid and belong.”