There are several reasons for it being such a sensitive issue. First and foremost, the fact that nothing has been done hasn’t made the problem go away, but has increased it. Players considering coming out have little reason to believe it would be a good idea; no one wants to even talk about the subject, and people who have attempted it before have seen their careers fizzle out at best. So not only can it affect a player’s career, but their whole life too, which sees gay players keep quiet.
Where this silence has fallen upon the topic, it now means that any player confident enough to confront it will instantly be targeted themselves as being gay, so the silence forever continues. The fear of being attacked prevents anyone discussing it. It’s almost like the saying ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ Why should straight people associated with football bother bringing it up when it’s not going to make it better for them? This leaves homosexuals with a burden that may be too large.
If people were willing to more openly discuss the issue, the sensitivity surrounding it would slowly disappear. But until someone makes that first step, it remains a sensitive, avoidable area.
8. What kind of a difference would an openly gay footballer make in your opinion? How would a coming out impact on the ‘fight’ against homophobia in professional men’s football?
The difference could be incredible. Whichever player does come out first would be taking a huge gamble on their career, but as public attitudes have changed over time, there would also be a huge amount of support. It would garner an amazing amount of media attention, and campaigns would have a face to support and work with to truly address the issue. This could also encourage other players to follow suit and come out too, which not only would take the burden off of just one player, but could also provide even more support; two clubs (hopefully) publically backing their gay players would be huge.
It is difficult to address an issue when it’s seemingly not there. Racism, respecting referees, even goal line technology: all are problems with the game that are evident to see, and thus need to be dealt with. But as long as it remains that there are no gay professional footballers, it will not be seen as an issue to be addressed. It wouldn’t happen overnight; of course not. It might not even happen over a year, five years, or ten years. But once a player makes that first step, the attitudes towards homophobia within football would drastically change and, over time, can be eradicated. Until then, we can’t expect anything to change, which is a terrible shame.
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Some very in depth questions were asked, and I did my best to answer them as effectively as I can. Remember, you may not agree with me on these answers I have given; they are all my own opinion. But you should be able to tell, from both my original article and these answers, that I feel that the issue is not being tackled, instead taking a back seat to other topics that seem to be more ‘in the spotlight’.
Let me know what you think in response to some of these questions, or to my answers. As always, please visit and like my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/thefootballwriter) and follow me on Twitter, @bradpeterson22.
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