Why Are There No Openly Gay Male Footballers?

every now and then i will get a message from a young person asking me why there are no gay footballers to which i respond in the only way i know how by saying that there are lots of gay footballers it is statistically impossible for them not to be before a variety of different reasons none of them yet feel compelled or able to come out publicly as being gay there will be plenty of people who respond to that fact by saying so what either because they are just homophobic or because they don't think the gay people should have to come out so to speak at all after all heterosexual people don't have to come out as being straight so why should gay or bisexual people have to come out as being gay or bisexual and i do believe that is a semi-coherent argument in an ideal world no one would have to come out as being gay straight or bisexual they would just be attracted to and fall in love with whoever they happen to be attracted to and fall in love with and no one else would think anything of it the very notion of gay people having to come out as gay and straight people not having to it could be argued carries with an unhelpful connotation that being gay is somehow so different or exceptional as to require declaring your sexuality in a way that straight people don't have to the problem of course is that we do not live in an ideal world and though i have no way of knowing for sure of course i suspect that the young people who ask me or anyone else or indeed just ask their own selves why are the no gay footballers are asking that question because they feel confused they love this sport called football they've got all these heroes that they look up to and cheer on every week but as far as they're aware they are all straight can gay men and boys not become footballers a gay men and boys not supposed to like football i think these are some of the dangerous inferences that young people might make when there are so few publicly homosexual footballers again i am only ventriloquising maybe they are just asking out of idle curiosity but that's always what i've imagined they're thinking and i don't think it is much of a stretch to make there's also the fact that we're not just talking about professional footballers not coming out as being gay publicly but being afraid to come out to their teammates with whom they spend so much of their time and sometimes even to their family and friends through fear we know this because there are footballers who have anonymously stated that they are gay and have given their reasons for keeping their sexuality private i wanted to start with that clarification because i know that it will be a lot of people's first thought and that otherwise it would have dominated much of the conversation the comments you may still feel as though coming out publicly shouldn't be a thing and i get that but at least now you know my reasoning and anyone making this argument in the comments now either just didn't watch any of the video or more likely falls into the first category of people who i suggested might make the so what critique when we talk about a lack of openly gay or bisexual footballers within the professional game we are referring of course to the men's game that is an important distinction because the women's game is so far ahead of the men's game in this respect whilst i would not be so presumptuous or naive as to suggest that homophobia doesn't exist within the women's game or that lesbian and bisexual female footballers don't face hurdles that don't exist for straight players clearly the situation in women's football is very different to the men's the most high profile female football player on the planet megan rappano came out as being a lesbian in 2012 as has arguably the greatest female footballer of all time marta meanwhile the world's most expensive female footballer pernal harder who was named as the best woman footballer in the world in 2020 is openly bisexual and has been in a relationship with magdalena ericsson who is now her teammate at chelsea since 2014 back when the pair were only 21 and 22 years old respectively in megan rappano martyr and pernal harder in the women's game we are talking about the equivalent of cristiano ronaldo pele and neymar in the men's game truly global superstars right at the top of the sport here in england where i live national team legends like casey stoney and leanne sanderson made their sexuality public many years ago making much easier for the young lesbian and bisexual women who followed in their footsteps just take england youth team international naomi hartley who has made no secret of her sexuality on social media and in public since the age of 16 or 17 when she first came to people's attention hartley played under casey stoney who was her manager at the time at manchester united clearly that creates a very different culture for young players coming through than the one that exists in the men's game there were 41 openly gay and bisexual footballers at the 2019 women's world cup a figure which looks likely to rise at the 2023 tournament compared to none at the men's world cup from daniella van der donk and beth meaded arsenal to jessica carter and anne catherine berger in the chelsea squad it is totally normal for gay and bisexual teammates to be in relationships within the women's game which if you think about it isn't at all surprising yet the idea of two men being in a relationship in say the england squad or at a particular premier league team seems to be a million miles away openly gay and bisexual female footballers still receive homophobic abuse typically on social media which could dissuade other female players from coming out but almost all those who have spoken at length about coming out speak of the overwhelming support that they have received within the game and felt that they would receive before coming out particularly from their own teammates creating a culture in which they felt confident and comfortable enough to be honest about who they are this culture so deeply rooted in football is probably the biggest difference between the men and women's game in this regard whenever there is talk about the lack of openly gay male footballers there is almost always a focus on who will be the first or at least who will be the first in one of europe's top five leagues whilst playing this millennia as though football is just waiting for some messianic gay player who is willing to come out and that all that is holding progress back is the fact that that first domino hasn't yet fallen we need to drop this focus on the individual this one gay footballer who is miraculously going to come along and fix everything because it is unhelpful unrealistic and it puts even greater pressure on any player who does eventually contemplate coming out it is a collective responsibility that falls on all of us as fans players pundits administrators coaches and whoever else within the sport to create a culture in which gay footballers feel that they can come out and not just to expect some brave soul to do it while so much of the culture within men's football clearly makes hundreds if not thousands of professional football players feel as though they have to hide their true selves often even to those closest to them we ought not ask who will be the first but rather how can we create an environment in which every gay footballer should they wish to feels comfortable enough to come out until you reach a point where a footballer coming out as being gay or bisexual is met with their response of so what but this time for all the right reasons i think it should be a source of immense shame to everyone with any association with football though we haven't yet created that environment in 2021 nor have we come close and nor are we even taking substantial strides in that direction at least as far as i can tell when i was a kid i remember witnessing loads of homophobic abuse on the football terraces from in a nonsense like does your boyfriend know you're here and we can see you holding hands directed towards brighton and hovalbian fans to a more malignant chant that was sung at west ham fans in response to their song about northerners beating their wives which is also obviously absolutely hilarious to be clear this isn't just a problem among whole city fans i don't think who are the club that i just so happen to support it seems to be almost every club and whilst i was writing and researching this video a story broke about the homophobic abuse that was directed at 20 year old norwich city midfielder billy gilmore from liverpool fans during the opening weekend of the 2021-22 premier league season if players who aren't gay or certainly aren't openly gay at least receive homophobic abuse from football fans how on earth can anyone expect a gay footballer to feel comfortable coming out we have a huge problem with racism and english football and beyond but from my own experiences very explicit homophobia is even more tolerated at football matches than racism shout something really racist at most football grounds in england and there's half a chance someone will quite rightly pull you up on it but cries of puff when a player is deemed to have gone down to ground too easily exaggerated an injury or dived are rarely met with so much as even a brief look of disapproval i think most people agree that not enough has been done to combat racism in football and we shouldn't get drawn into abuse or bigotry top trumps since all ought to be on the agenda but whilst there is quite rightly a big conversation about racism and football right now there is much less of a conversation going on about homophobia i don't think that is because homophobia is any less of a problem in football than racism it's just because footballers can conceal their sexuality in a way in which they can't when it comes to the colour of their skin therefore racist abuse such as that which we saw directed at marcus rashford jaden sancho and bakayo saka following the euro 2020 final seems more personal and pernicious than casual indirect and unopposed homophobia espoused on the terraces of football stadiums and elsewhere as with racism we cannot pretend that homophobia isn't a huge problem in football but nor can we pretend that it is unique to football or that football alone could ever eradicate it for good that would be extremely naive gary neville has been very pointed in his critique of england's political class and government for their hypocrisy and cowardice with regards to their own track record when it comes to racism the comments they made before the tournament began and their faux outrage when the flames that they stoked began to burn three young black england internationals and the public mood shifted in sympathy towards those players just as the current prime minister of the united kingdom described black people as pikaninis with watermelon smiles and muslim women as looking like bank robbers and letterboxes he also described gay men as tank-topped bumboys in a newspaper column and voted against same-sex couples from being able to adopt children and crucially he has never apologized for any of those comments i bring those comments up not to denigrate the current prime minister of the united kingdom though i don't think those comments are pretty shameful but to illustrate the fact that if a man with that track record can reach the highest office in the land how seriously do we as a country beyond just football treat issues of racism and homophobia the inference i think in all too many cases would be not very seriously we also cannot absolve football's governing bodies of responsibility when it comes to perpetuating homophobia or at least failing to properly oppose it and indeed of making life far more difficult for lgbt people to feel accepted or welcome in football for all their rhetoric both fifa and uefa who are by far the two largest governing bodies in world football are both guilty of showing a total disregard to a country's record and attitude with regards to lgbt rights when it comes to awarding hosting rights for club and international competitions hungary hosted four games a euro 2020 despite the fact the victor orbans government passed a new anti-lgbt bill earlier this year similar to that approved by the state duma and signed into law by vladimir putin in russia in 2013 and section 28 or clause 28 that was introduced by margaret thatcher's conservative government in the united kingdom in 1988 but was repealed in scotland in the year 2000 and in england and wales in 2003. when the city of munich made a request to uefa to light up the allianz arena in the colours of the rainbow flag ahead of their game against hungary at the euros uefa refused their request claiming that it was a political gesture and uefa even investigated manuel neuer for wearing a rainbow flag captain's armband for all of germany's games seemingly only deciding not to punish the german number one in fear of the backlash that they would likely have received never to be outdone fifa in addition to awarding russia with the right toaster 2018 world cup the next world cup will of course be held in qatar a country in which by the letter of the law being gay can be punishable by death for muslims under sharia law yes rainbow laces mean little if you live in one of the 70 countries on earth where same-sex relationships are still illegal or any of the 12 countries where you can still be executed by the state for engaging in a same-sex sexual relationship there are no known cases of capital punishment being invoked for the crime of homosexuality in qatar but it is certainly illegal since 2004 article 296 of the current penal code has stipulated imprisonment of between one to three years for sodomy between men in 1998 an american citizen visiting qatar was sentenced to six months in prison and 90 lashings for engaging in homosexual activity lashings and floggings are a fairly common punishment for engaging in what qatar deems to be elicits sexual activity particularly for foreigners in 2013 the gulf cooperation council which is made up of six gulf states including qatar proposed to the implementation of a homosexuality test designed to prevent homosexuals from traveling to the region there is of course no working medical test for homosexuality in existence it is pure pseudoscience but that didn't stop q80 health minister yusuf minkar from proposing the idea which would likely have involved some form of anal probe as has been used in lebanon the plans were eventually scrapped or at least shelved through fears that it would prompt further outcry for qatar to be stripped of their right to host the world cup three years earlier in 2010 when he was asked about concerns that gay football fans might have about attending the 2022 world cup in qatar then fifa president set blatter just laughed and said i would say they should refrain from any sexual activities blatter later backtracked following calls for him to quit in light of those comments but they were actually sound advice the biggest issue wasn't barter's comments which were just typically tone deaf and insensitive but the fact that in qatar the best advice to offer a gay person is not to let anyone know you're gay by awarding qatar the right to host not just the biggest events in world football but the biggest in all of world sport the message is very simple lgbt people are not welcome football is not actually as fifa so often likes to claim for everyone given everything that i've just said is it really any wonder that so few footballers come out and not at the highest level for more than 30 years which openly gay footballer would want to go to a world cup in a country where homosexual acts are technically punishable by death practically punishable with years in prison and barbaric forms of torture and which would consider the possibility of using pseudo-scientific nonsense to try and prevent homosexuals from visiting on the deeply delusional and dangerous supposition that there aren't a huge number of deeply repressed homegrown qatari homosexual citizens a little over a year ago there was an anonymous open letter written by a premier league footballer who spoke about his sexuality and the torment of feeling forced to keep it a secret in it he stated that only his closest family and friends know of his sexuality and that his teammates and manager have no idea he spoke of his desire to have relationships but his fear of dating anyone due to the possibility of his sexuality being made public he criticized the pfa and the lack of education of players coaches fans agents and owners he wrote about hearing homophobic chants in the stands directed and no one in particular in the knowledge that he would put a target on his head for those kinds of chants abuse and more were he to come out his mental anguish dripped off every word he said that he contemplated retiring just so that he could come out as being gay and stop living a lie this is 2021 and that is the way in which gay footballers are being made to feel playing in the biggest league in the world in the united kingdom what was the reaction to that enormously emotive anonymous open letter as far as i can recall primarily it turned into a sort of guess the gay carnival competition oh i wonder who it could be not jesus christ how heartbreaking is that we probably shouldn't make gay footballers feel like that maybe some pretty substantial changes to our approach are required no it was all just a game and that he didn't come out because you know why would he and the world kept on spinning and everyone just seemingly forgot about it that letter was made public of the player's wishes by the fashion new foundation who were offering support to five gay footballers as of may 2020 including two in the premier league the fashionable foundation is named in honour of justin fashionu who was the first and last footballer to come out as being gay whilst playing professionally in english football the world's first one million pound black footballer fashion who came out as being gay in 1990 his brother john fashionou who had done everything to try and stop justin from coming out very publicly disowned him describing him as an outcast at nottingham forest where fashion went from being one of the best young players in england to looking totally devoid of confidence and dropping down through the divisions his manager brian cloth called him a bloody puff and even banned fashiony from taking part in first-team training sessions after he discovered that he was gay fashionu committed suicide by hanging himself in a deserted garage in london at the age of 37. no professional football within the football league or premier league has since come out whilst playing the uk genuinely has changed a lot and for the better with regards to lgbt rights since justin fashion who came out but football seemingly hasn't or at least not to the degree required for a single footballer to feel comfortable coming out as being gay for players as those who have come out after retiring have admitted they see the sport as being very macho you are constantly competing not just against your opponents but also with your own teammates for a starting birth you cannot show any vulnerability which is why mental health is such a severe problem in football and also why some openly gay post-retirement players have said they were reluctant to come out they thought that it would be seen as a sign of weakness it is quite possible that gay and bisexual men are underrepresented in football just as lesbian and bisexual women are slightly over-represented within the women's game in relation to the overall population if that is the case then it's likely because young boys who are gay or bisexual are forced out of the sport not literally one would hope but feel unwelcome which is bad enough and drop out before they reach the professional ranks you can argue that is why there might not be as high percentage of gay footballers as there are gay men in general though you are only raising another serious problem to which the solution is exactly the same make lgbt people feel more welcome at football it was actually through football as far as i can recall that i first discovered homophobia at least in its most visceral and hate-filled form and it taught me the scale of the problem as a very naive 12 or 13 year old boy who had never had any reason to grapple or engage with these issues due to being straight along with the fact that i was fortunate enough to grow up in a household where very explicit homophobia at least was not present a couple of times in the past jordan henderson has tweeted gay football fans to try and offer them support and make them feel welcome at football the responses that he receives in their thousands are enough to make you weep as i have said in the past on this channel racism in football i think is roughly reflective of racism in our society as a whole those who applaud players for taking the knee and those who boo them are largely indicative of the societal divides that exist in england and to an even greater or lesser extent in other parts of the world that is not to say that there isn't a whole lot more that football can do it should be better than the wider world but i think it is fairly reflective i don't think that is true of homophobia from my own experience attending football matches and living in the wider world and looking at the data in terms of the public's broader views i do think that football is more homophobic than society as a whole football genuinely does have a homophobia problem independence of the non-football world and very little is being done by those with real power to address it huge change is desperately needed beyond laces flags and melee mouthed pr people serving up meaningless platitudes whilst sending players off to play club and international competitions in human rights abusing countries where being gay constitutes a criminal offence i made this video knowing that it would cost me viewers and subscribers because some people are homophobic and from a purely business perspective i would likely be well advised to leave the subject alone it's not the first video i've made where that is probably the case i also annoyed some people when i said that i didn't have much love for nazis but at the end of the day there are some people who i'm probably willing to lose as subscribers and this is a video that i've wanted to make ever since uefa's pathetic statement in response to not allowing the city of munich to light up the allianz arena in the colours of the rainbow flag so that is it for today's video if you did enjoy it hit the like button let me know your thoughts as always down below in the comments and make sure that you are subscribed and have notifications turned on for hrtc service you can also find me on twitter or on instagram by the username at hrtz7s on both should you wish to do so

Channel: HITC Sevens

Views: 98,469

Keywords: HITC Sevens, Football, Soccer, Gay, Footballers, LGBT, Openly, Professional, Premier League, Why, HITC Sport, Players, FIFA, UEFA, Qatar, 2022 World Cup, World Cup, Fans, Documentary, HITC, Sevens

Id: q1PrSFFBYEw

Length: 23min 35sec (1415 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 19 2021