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

Gaylord.

 

But it is. Its all linked.

I agree theres extra focus on them because they're footballers, and I dont understand why anyone would care.

They already don't live "normal" lives but yeah, I take your point on that.

 

Unfortunately a good Samaritan traced me and returned it ( my pass)

 

Good news but I think you meant fortunately.

 

My guess is that if a footballer came out, it would not be seen as an issue for the vast, vast majority of fans.

However, once it does happen, the media will make an issue of it - requesting interviews, speculating on the reception he'll get, what do his team-mates think, what does his manager think, and wondering who else is gay, etc etc.

Then, as the gay footballer approaches his first game post-revelation, all the media would be trained on the game and fans like hawks and as soon as just one nob decided he couldn't help himself and shouted something, it would be captured and the "SHAME OF FOOTBALL" headlines would come out (so to speak).

The sooner we get over this hurdle the better to take the sting out of it and stop it being an issue at all.

 

he knew exactly what he meant!

 

Lets face it, people have no issues with gay footballers because we almost certainly watch gay players week in week out and clubs have no issues employing gay footballers because they have been doing for years.

The sad fact is that the only way people will treat gay footballers the same as straight footballers is if they don't know that player is gay, like they do at the moment.

 

Sadly I think you're right there.

 

Awww x
(I may have been drunk. I can't remember too much of the game... thankfully)

 

Look Judge Ringer, ( or whatever he's called) perhaps they don't feel as though they have to ?

 

Definitely. If players came out questions would be raised and being gay would always be an adjective associated with them for their entire careers. Instead of simply being a footballer, they'd be a gay footballer.

 

I've only scanned this thread
Is it about the FA demanding that footballers have their teeth checked by dentists to check whether they're gay or not?
I think I saw something about it on the news?

I don't like the idea.

 

In my experience, a high proportion of West Indian and African geezers really don't like or accept homosexuality. That might go some way to explaining why coming out would be a problem for a professional footballer.

 

I guess for this post - I need to say firstly - I'm gay.

I really get why footballers won't come out - because I can see links to my own life. This issue isn't anything to do with sex, it's about what aspects of your life are public.

There are only two places where I feel the need to keep quiet - or even occasionally lie about my life. One is at work, the other is at City.

I came out as a teenager, it was pretty uneventful. Friends stayed friends, family was pretty much okay - no problems.

The issue came when I got a job as a tutor. I work with young adults, some of them are pretty religious. I'm not going to discuss my private life with them - but if I get married, and wear a ring and anybody asks me about it - do I talk about a husband or a wife? Students always ask about families and backgrounds - should I be honest or do I lie to make everything run smoothly.

I lie. Obviously.

All of my colleagues (maybe you could call them my manager and my team mates?) know about me and are fine. The college I work for (my club?) has a very robust anti-discrimination policy, and would back me up if any student (a supporter, perhaps?) was abusive towards me.

At the end of the day though - if I don't connect with my students, if I become less efficient because of a distraction in the class - if they start to fail - that anti-discrimination policy won't mean **** come my next performance review. And more to the point - I don't want to get it that far - I want to help these people pass exams and achieve - I don't want to be some poster-boy, I just want to do my job.

As I said, the only other place where I feel I can't be open is when I'm at the KC. I guess it's because it's still a very masculine environment, I can't imagine talking about a partner of mine the way I hear blokes talking about their wives and girlfriends.

And that, for me, is the problem for the players. Once a few players have done it - it will feel normal. But until then, how many of them are going to want to take the bullet, risk their futures and become known as the gay footballer for the rest of their career. It's a vicious circle. As other people have said - plenty of women have been prepared to come out in women's football - but the atmosphere there isn't as pressured.

I think now we have equal marriage, more footballers are coming out post-career, such as Thomas Hitzlsperger, it'll normalise things more, and then we'll get the first one. Until then, unless we get a political footballer, who is willing to put being out ahead of his fears and potentially his future contracts, we won't have a footballer risking it, especially since they can just put it off until they retire, and settle down in their mid-thirties.

 

I would agree with this 100% I think...but I've no idea who Judge Rinder is (standing by to find out I've been whooshed!)

 

Or Russians or Qataris.
Can't see these countries welcoming puffs at all, in fact they might risk being beheaded in Qatar for the WC.

 

Fair play for your openness. I can understand your concerns, and it's easy for me to say as it's not me affected, but I genuinely believe that if you speak about your partner in the same context that others talk about theirs, I doubt anyone you're talking to would have an issue.

If you were wandering round with a rainbow flag as a political gay, effectively accusing everyone else of being homophobic bigots, then you'd possibly get some alternative views to your own. I feel your comment about being a poster boy would be spot on (nearly put cock on) for a footballer, and I can see why you/they would want to avoid that and just get on with your life.

Articles like those in the OP do more harm than good in my opinion.

EDIT. This feeling/need you have to hide a part of your life can't be at all easy. It says a lot about the situation and society that I can understand why you see the need to.