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"Adelaide United player Josh Cavallo has come out as gay, becoming the only current top-flight male professional footballer in the world to do so."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-59060323
It would be a brave man to do the same in some countries where greater bigotry is ubiquitous.
Not sure it's absurd, it's pretty understandable. There's not much to gain.
The greater problem is the terraces rather than team mates for me, without question. Look at all the songs Brighton fans get; now imagine what would happen to an openly gay player. Thousands of people all agreeing that what someone does in their own private life is their business, when there's a chance that an opposition player could be distracted? I doubt it.
Whereas its a lot less likely a player would be confronted face to face by a team mate when probably 90% of the squad would go to his defence.
Yes, absurd probably isn't the right word. I guess I mean statistically absurd, given how many professional footballers there are in the world etc. It doesn't paint football in a good light.
Personally, I really can't see mass abuse from the terraces tbh. It would be clamped down on very strongly.
It'll be good when we can get to a stage where announcements like this aren't News.
I think this is the issue and may be part of the issue in the changing room
I honestly think from the terraces there would be no real issues - within the context that football crowds give abuse all the time, I dont think collectively someones sexuality would make a difference apart from isolated incidents.
I thought one member of the current Wales squad had come out as gay…
It's strange as there is a big support for other causes by football why not support the gay community in a better way or is it only certain injustices we can see
Good on the lad, I think when the others have come out they had retired or were closing to retiring. This kids still young and why shouldn’t he.
As above hopefully one day there will be no need for players to make such announcements.
Gotta disagree with you there. It’s much harder to insult someone to their face when you work with them 40+ hours a week than it is to be part of a crowd of thousands anonymously abusing someone.
Footballers are younger on average than the people in the stands and not to tar everyone with the same brush, the younger generation are typically more understanding and open about homosexuality than older people.
Yeah, fair point and don't get me wrong..I agree with you really. I just think the 'changing room banter' type atmosphere is a fear for players, more than how a crowd would react.
I agree, in practice you would like to think players would be fine, I can just imagine its an intimidator environment in which to come out into.
Either way, this is clearly a bigger issue for football specifically, as it doesn't seem to matter so much in other sports.
In practice, I think any player would get far more support than opposition, and most importantly, most wouldn't care either way, which is how it should be.
I can see your reasoning but I think the changing room camaraderie would take priority over abusive “banter”. I’ve never been in a professional football changing room but back when I was playing school/weekend football I think a player would’ve been fully supported had they come out as gay and any comments, etc from the edgier lot would’ve been nipped in the bud by the team.
I agree there would be much more support and praise for the player than abuse and opposition when it comes to how fans in the stands would react but I can definitely imagine there would be a decent chunk of abuse even if it’s from the minority.
This is the reality, and this is why nobody wants to come out.
It's ok for us to say it'll be fine, no one cares, it's tomorrow's chippie paper. The few who are actually wearing the shoes don't want to come out, have absolutely no intention of doing so, and that should tell its own story.
This is correct. The squad would back their team mate, and anyone who didn't would be the outcast. That's how team sport works (unless the gay player was already unpopular).
The suggestion that the changing room is the problem not the terraces is mad to me, although I'm also quite sure most fans have bigger things to worry about.
Well yeah it is only certain injustices, I don't think it's realistic to expect football to protest every single injustice in the world, do you?
They have to be selective but as it goes they do try and highlight this one, including the rainbow laces campaign https://www.premierleague.com/RainbowLaces. Lots of work still to do of course.
One of your more subtle BLM shaped whatabouteries this but as with every single other time, it's a massive swing and a miss.
I really don't think it would be a problem in the changing room these days.
It would take a very brave man to risk the abuse he would get from the terraces and on social media over here though.