Why The Coming Out Of A Premier Football Player Is The Only Way To End Homophobia On The Pitch
If you want to break down the homophobic prejudice that exists in the football world, and start to see more acceptance of gay players, Andrew Fifield of the Irish Times believes that a top football player is going to have to take the step out of the closet and into public view.
Using the case of how a false story about Trevor Morley (an ex West Ham player and now something of a cult figure in Norway) being stabbed by his wife, after being found in bed with his former West Ham team mate, Ian Bishop, effectively ruined Morley’s career, the article highlights how the football world adopts a role toward homosexuality that is much like that of the unaccepting families that many of us have deal with – ignore it and hope it goes away.
The reality is though that it won’t, and it’s incredibly sad to see that whilst Morley’s experience is 10 years old, nothing has been done to change these prejudices, even though racism and hooliganism have both become huge issues that the Premier League makes a lot of fuss about dealing with.
And whilst those on the pitch may be scared, there’s widespread belief that more should be done, with a recent survey by gay rights charity, Stonewall, finding that over half of the 2000 supporters, players and executives questioned believed that the football authorities were not doing enough to stamp out homophobia.
But is it really likely that Fifield will start a trend of football players coming out ? The tragic fate of Justin Fashanu, the first gay high level footballer to be open about his sexuality isn’t likely to inspire many too, and that’s before they’ve even thought about what they’re going to have to deal with in the changing rooms.
However something definitely needs to be done, not just in football but in the world of sport, as these always have, and always will be global platforms in which we have the power to show the rest of the world that being gay in sport is far from the awful thing that we all currently appear to be portraying.
You can read Andew Fifield’s article in full at The Irish Times.
