Eight per cent of fans ‘wouldn’t watch team containing gay player’

It is just a case of more people in that situation "taking one for the team". Once it's out there, it really will be an irrelevance. The first group to come out will attract a lot of attention.

I think the reasons people won't come out now, isn't so much that they worry about what will be said - it's more that it's such a short career, on lucrative, but short contracts. If anything seems to distract you from the game, will you be offered that next good deal? In the lower leagues will making yourself stand out affect your chances of even getting a contract?

I hate to say it, but despite their reputation, both codes of rugby do seem to look after their players more than football does - players seem a lot more disposable in this game.

All it will take is for a couple of gay players to stick their heads up, and no one will give a **** about the rest - but I'll bet you every single gay player out there is thinking, why should it be me?

 

Gay players will get abused. It's just a fact of life. Rooney gets called shrek. Steve Bruce gets abuse for being a fat ****. It's just what happens, and I don't see why there's a problem with fans picking up on anything to unsettle an enemy player and put them off their game. Once a few have come out it will soon wear off and nobody will give a ****, they're obviously just not up to taking it.

 

What's the betting you're not from Manchester?

 

I really don't care.

 

Even for you thats a poor attempt to wind people up. I suppose we might as well start racially abusing black players again to put them off their game?

 

You're just a bellend that's all.

 

And you're a homophobic twat.

 

Doesn't work. Clive Sullivan received racial abuse from both FC and Rovers fans in the wholesome, family sport of rugby league but it didn't put him off.

 

Well if you'd have pointed that out to football fans we could have avoided decades of racist abuse from the terraces.

 

I think we should applaud a fine move or goal by an opposition player instead of unsportingly trying to put them off, even if it means us loding. It's only a game.

 

No. But it might have stopped decades of sanctimonious twats in the HDM prattling on about the wonderful game of RL and its fantastic banter in the family game whilst highlighting every little problem at a football match.

 

That's because most of them are dogs, with a few notable exceptions.

 

If that's the alternative to homophobic abuse then sure do that.

 

Homophobic twat.

 

Presumably out of the 8% who would object none of these people were Watford fans because as we all well know Sir Elton is very publicly gay.

 

To be fair in the 70's racism was very much part of 'fantastic banter' and 'family life'. Just look at TV programs from back then, attitudes have changed for the better.

 

Poor, even for you, at least make an effort.

 

What? I just came across your post saying exactly the same as mine.

You homophobic twat.