Rugby Player Says He Turned Gay After Stroke

Can a stroke turn you gay? Well if we’re to believe the tale being told by 26-year-old Chris Birch, yes they can! According to The Telegraph, welshman Birch was showing off to friends by trying to do a backflip at a rugby training session, but fell and broke his neck, which ended up causing a stroke.

When he woke up, well, Birch says, “I was gay when I woke up and I still am. It sounds strange but when I came round I immediately felt different. I wasn’t interested in women any more. I had never been attracted to a man before – I’d never even had any gay friends. But I didn’t care about who I was before, I had to be true to my feelings.”

He apparently quit his job in a bank, went off sports, decided to train as a hairdresser, turned from a 19st skinhead to a 11st preened man, and started dating a man.

To be honest there does seem something a little fishy about the story, but it’s tough to tell whether it’s the tale itself or just the reporting of it (some details seem to be slightly off, which makes me doubt things, such as with the various newspaper accounts liking the idea of him dumping a fiance after he woke up from his coma and became gay, even though he and his girlfriend were apparently on a break beforehand).

It certainly raises some interesting questions though. It is known that strokes can cause personality changes, but can they change someone’s sexuality? Or perhaps Birch was already gay, but the stroke opened up areas that allowed him to accept it. Who knows! (And of course there is the possibility things aren’t as they appear with this tale)