"I cannot prevent anyone from getting angry, or mad, or frustrated. I can only hope that they'll turn that anger and frustration and madness into something positive, so that two, three, four, five hundred will step forward, so the gay doctors will come out, the gay lawyers, the gay judges, gay bankers, gay architects ... I hope that every professional gay will say 'enough', come forward and tell everybody, wear a sign, let the world know. Maybe that will help." Harvey Milk, 1978
HT: Andy Sullivan
Gay sportsmen and women. Woefully under-represented - probably because of the discrimination the 'out' ones face (think Justin Fashanu, Mauresmo etc) - but if all the gay ones WERE to come out, it would rock the sporting world and hopefully change attitudes.
ReplyDeleteThere was an interesting quote from David James a couple of years back (not sure how you're up on footy, so "current professional goalkeeper, former England keeper")
"A senior executive in football said to me he wished all the gay footballers would come out so we could just get on with it. I find that view refreshing. In marketing terms they could make a fortune."
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2007/apr/15/sport.comment2)
And woe betide a football who does something a bit camp, like er... reading...
"Football is a profession that doesn't allow anyone to be different," he says. "I've had players over the years who were single and read books and so others said they must be gay." [former {?} manager Alan Smith]
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4427718.stm)
And the problem is because there are no "out" footballers, the media (and people generally, to be honest) therefore are going to spend time speculating.
But Graeme Le Saux's autobiography gives a good explanation of why no-one seemingly wants to come out (see http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article2419068.ece) - as he explains what happened to him when people THOUGHT he was gay...
Thanks for that Jack. All good points.
ReplyDeleteThe FA do appear to 'get it' and have done some sterling work but still no-one will 'go first'.
Ian Roberts (Rugby) did it in Australia and they still loved him http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Roberts_(rugby_league)