Homophobia in football

[Blue Til Death]

The first player in English football brave enough to wear rainbow laces, sir Joey of Barton

Didn’t he use them to strangle somebody though ??

 

[Mon Autre]

It's of no importance of anyone to express their sexuality, take it to the next level, do you think "straight" players should say what floats their boat in the bedroom? No, it doesn't matter, if any players are gay it matters not a jot if they don't declare it, it's their business and theirs alone.

It's not about making a huge song and dance about your sexuality. It's about not having to hide it. It's about not having to worry about going on a date and requiring discretion.

Every time a straight footballer steps out with his partner they tell us what floats their boat.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

It's pretty irrelevant in my opinion, why do people think they need to support a cause like this? We all know gays and lesbians are out there, they're a pretty tough community who support each other.

I have two friends who are lesbians, great girls who don't give two fucks about the rainbow shite, they come into our local, have a laugh with our mainly male mates. Honestly, those offended are proxy sympathisers, live in the real world, my friends are just normal people living normal lives and have never been on the receiving end of homophobia.

You should print a copy of this post and give it to them, then film their reaction and post it here.

I think everyone on all sides might learn something from such an exchange.

 

[Mon Autre]

It's pretty irrelevant in my opinion, why do people think they need to support a cause like this? We all know gays and lesbians are out there, they're a pretty tough community who support each other.

I have two friends who are lesbians, great girls who don't give two fucks about the rainbow shite, they come into our local, have a laugh with our mainly male mates. Honestly, those offended are proxy sympathisers, live in the real world, my friends are just normal people living normal lives and have never been on the receiving end of homophobia.

Well part of the reason they don't have to worry about all of that "rainbow shite" is thanks to, amongst others, the rainbow flag wavers of this world who have fought incredibly hard across the decades (and often at great personal cost) to secure their right to live their lives with minimal hassle. If your friends think enough of the battle has been won for them to live a carefree life then I'm really happy for them. But to dismiss the continuing efforts of those who want to make sure EVERYONE can live their lives without fear of harassment or discrimination as "rainbow shite" is ignorant in the extreme.

 

[Uncle Wally One Ball]

What's a good reason to not want to wear it then, in your view?

My view doesnt matter. Its the view of the individual concerned that matters. Some people have different views and those can be disagreed with, or even abhorred by some, but if someone doesnt want to display some visible representatuon for their own reasons that this is fine by me. For this reason I avoid the annual outrage about McLean not wearing a poppy on his shirt. Its his view on something, and that should be that

 

[roy.or.r]

So he has to be high profile? I think that’s the major issue, unless it’s a ballon D’or contender then it’s blamed on fear of coming out.

How many gay footballers in the PL have you heard of?

 

[roy.or.r]

Choosing not to wear an armband is not homophobic.

Yes it is.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

How many gay footballers in the PL have you heard of?

Might only be Thomas Schnitzelburger that has come out and that was after he’d retired.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

My view doesnt matter. Its the view of the individual concerned that matters. Some people have different views and those can be disagreed with, or even abhorred by some, but if someone doesnt want to display some visible representatuon for their own reasons that this is fine by me. For this reason I avoid the annual outrage about McLean not wearing a poppy on his shirt. Its his view on something, and that should be that

I think it’s perfectly fine to think and operate this way.

If we’re all just going to play “let it be”, then institutions which choose to display rainbow flags and hold tolerance days shouldn’t be the subject of derision either. “Keep politics out of football” — well, some institutions and the people that run/own them disagree, so let institutions act as they see fit at the leadership level and their employees can either embrace/accept these actions or not. Seems a fair compromise, no?

But it doesn’t feel like one, because the plurality of posts here suggest it’s the clubs at fault for calling attention to LGBTQ issues to begin with.

I like the approach of @Mazzarelli's Swiss Cheese best — let the club focus on broad displays of awareness without using the players as billboards. They are the face of the club but there are broad reach strategies that don’t rely on individual “faces”. However, I’d also expect no complaints about such an approach, and I suspect there’d still be stupid cries of “virtue signaling” anyhow.

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

How many gay footballers in the PL have you heard of?

ZERO.