Sadly it takes a generation or two to come round to certain things. Football is so far behind in this compared to some other sports or industries, but it has been working for a long time to make it a safe environment for someone to come out. This is a huge step for a gay player and I hope that another few players can step up now too as this is a lot of pressure on a 17 year who probably just wants to play football. Fair fucking play to him though.Obviously i understand why people sadly feel the need to hide their sexuality in professional sports but it does astound me that we are in 2022 and we are having pretty much the first openly gay footballer.
on the balance of probability there must be hundreds of gay footballers hiding their true selves in plain sight, very sad when you think about it.
it’s not the 80s anymore.
my tuppence anyway.
I was thinking the same thing - most LGBTQ kids these days aren't closeted. But going by his statement it sounds like he sadly was. Makes it all the more braver to come out in this way!I wonder if it’s because he’s been openly gay and hasn’t had to hide it. Then as his football career begins to happen he feels strong enough to just get on with it. I wouldn’t mind betting he was open about it at the club but it was kept quiet to protect him.
Either way, I hope he milks the attention and gets some great sponsorship deals.
For most people his age it isn't such a big deal now, which is brilliant. But it's always going to be while it's still so rare in football and there's so much trepidation in how fans will react. I'm optimistic though that things will be just fineI can’t believe this is even a big deal anymore.
From all I am hearing, his club are fully supportive, which is good news.Good lad. I know the majority of football fans wouldn’t care less if they had a gay footballer at their club. What matters is ability and desire to do their best, not their sexuality. I hope his club back him completely.
Did you see the Burnley supporters giving the nazi salute? There are some fucking horrible people out there who will attempt to get at this brave young man. We need to make more noise than they do, just as we’ve done with those booing the knee.I can’t believe this is even a big deal anymore.
The announcement had been planned for many weeks. I guess, end of the season is a good time as people can get used to it before next. Football has made this a big issue not the players-2022 and the first active player-really. Would be nice to see a high profile PL player come out-this would rock the homophobic football world.From all I am hearing, his club are fully supportive, which is good news.