Is It Really Important For Gay Footballers To Come Out Of The Closet?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2257057/West-Ham-star-footballer-appear-gay-magazine-cover-tries-crush-games-stigmas.html

/// Changes in attitudes within football were highlighted following a recent study by the University of Staffordshire which suggested the majority of fans would welcome players coming out as gay. ///

/// The study, as reported by The Independent, found that 40 per cent of fans blamed clubs and agents for keeping gay footballers under wraps. ///

In my opinion, football has enough problems with racism, without adding homophobia to them.

What do you think, would it be a good thing for gay footballers to 'come out'?

[vulcan]

coming out  
com·ing-out [kuhm-ing-out] Show IPA
noun
1.
a debut into society, especially a formal debut by a debutante.
2.
an acknowledgment of one's homosexuality, either to oneself or publicly.
Relevant Questions

[sp1814]

AOG

I'm going to spell out my original answer to you, because it obviously wasn't explained well enough:

I wrote:

Do you think that straight football players should date women in secret?

The reason I asked that is because that's what gay players do...and they probably do it in fear of being exposed. You don't believe they SHOULD openly have boyfriends, so you think that gay players should date in secret. Why should they?

Please answer.

Do you object to knowing that straight players are straight?

I asked that because of your repeated assertion the you hate gay people 'going on about it'.

If not - why the objection to gay players openly having boyfriends?

I asked that because of the level playing field you so frequently refer to.

[Answerprancer]

Good luck getting an answer to that, sp.

[Mick-Talbot]

For your information Answer p****



Now that oozes ''BONE-HEADEDNESS'.
Well done you.

[Answerprancer]

"Answer P****"
"So perhaps it is you who should move on, but I am too polite to say where too (sic)"
"Too polite" ...LOL

[Answerprancer]

LOL, I was thinking that Mick and wondering what the four asterisks were supposed to represent 'Answer P0nce' maybe ?

[anotheoldgit]

Zeuhl

It is obvious that I am wasting my time trying to explain things to a person who unlike everyone has the need to have the words 'coming out' (in connection to Homosexuality) explained fully to him

Incidentally your pathetic excuse for making the mistake of misreading Gromits words, are a delight to read. LOL

[Zeuhl]

sp1814

I think it's a no-win with some people

Partly because in their minds 'coming out' immediately translates into 'flaunting it'

If aog ever managed to answer the question 'have you kept your marriage to a woman a secret or did you flaunt it?' I must have missed it LOL

[sp1814]

AOG

And then there's the other issue which no-one has thought about - at some point a gay player will HAVE to come out...when they enter a civil partnership. It will be virtually impossible for that news to remain a secret (and why should it?)

But going back to your original point (which in itself is quite interesting):

In my opinion, football has enough problems with racism, without adding homophobia to them.

Are you saying that there isn't homophobia in football at the moment, and the presence of a gay footballer would prompt homophobia...or are you saying there's already a level of homophobia, so gay footballers are best keeping it quiet?

Perhaps an analogy would be, "In my opinion, football has enough problems with racism, without adding anti-semiism to them. So Jewish players should keep their faith a secret".

Same principle really.

[sp1814]

AOG

I was in no way attacking homosexuality, just why the need for them 'come out', which makes no difference to the game of Soccer either way.

Which goes back to the point I'm trying to make. If a gay player shouldn't feel the need to refer to his boyfriend, should a straight player ever need to refer to his wife or girlfriend?

It's not a level playing field at the moment, because Peter Crouch can be pictured on holiday holding hands with his wife, but ***** ** ***** can't be seen with his boyfriend.

[starone]

Gay people don't bother me and I am sure I don't bother gay people. I could never understand what all the fuss was about. Everyone is entitled to lead their lives as they think fit. I don't really want to know about it. As the saying goes "too much information".

[Zeuhl]

/Incidentally your pathetic excuse for making the mistake of misreading Gromits words, are a delight to read./

Please explain
I made no mistake and made no excuse
I was explaining the proper use of English to you
Perhaps I would be better off trying to teach the cat to drive instead

/who unlike everyone has the need to have the words 'coming out' (in connection to Homosexuality) explained fully to him/

You really are being stupid today aren't you
As I articulated my understanding of 'coming out' then obviously I didn't need to have it 'explained' to me.

I was interested in your understanding of the phrase, or are you stupid enough to think everyone has the same understanding of things?
I can assure you that if you ask 6 people to define a common concept it is very unlikely there will be an understanding common to them all - I know, I've conducted the exercise on many occasions.

[anotheoldgit]

sp1814

/// My questions were completely relevant to you post. ///

/// You asked whether it's important for gay players to come
out. ///

/// I say 'yes'. ///

I will repeat it is 'not at all important' to the game of soccer for gay footballers to come out.

If you think differently please be good enough to explain what will it add to the game?

/// Do you think that gay players should keep their relationships secret? ///

Now that is a different question, and my answer is no, but it seems by the lack of 'out of the closet' players in the game, they wish to keep their relationships secret themselves, so why should we force them to 'come out'?

[starone]

I agree with AOG. They should be allowed to do whatever they want. It makes no difference to their abilities in the football world.

[Mick-Talbot]

AOG

I will repeat it is 'not at all important' to the game of soccer for gay footballers to come out.




But do you thing they should deliberately hide the fact that they are gay?

[Zeuhl]

//but it seems by the lack of 'out of the closet' players in the game, they wish to keep their relationships secret themselves//

No it doesn't
That is a silly assumption

What data do you have showing the proportion of gay footballers 'in the closet' who are?:

a) wanting to keep it a secret because they like it so
b) wanting to be open but feel forced not to

[sp1814]

Ah...now we agree on something here.

Gay footballers should absolutely not come out if they don't want to. I don't see any point in someone being forced into that.

However, I believe that it is important to soccer (not the game itself, but the world of soccer) that gay players should feel that they CAN come out if they wanted to.

Because of the inherent homophobia already in football, the likelihood of a gay player being able to have a relationship - something that the rest of us take for granted is limited, if not possible.

[Kromovaracun]

Yes, it's important for gay public figures to be able to come out if they want to. I don't really see any reason why not - most people would agree that there's nothing inherently shameful in falling in love with someone of the same gender, so there's no reason public figures should be forced to hide it when their heterosexual counterparts aren't obliged to.

In the case of football, it had always been my impression that fans were the main obstacle to this - but if the evidence gathered by Staffordshire is correct, then I think that's excellent news, which significantly changes my impression of football.

I don't understand the OP's comment that 'football has enough problems with racism without adding homophobia to them', so I'm not really sure how to respond to it.

[sp1814]

I will repeat it is 'not at all important' to the game of soccer for gay footballers to come out.

If you think differently please be good enough to explain what will it add to the game?

It's not about the game. It's about the managers, the supporters, the players and the clubs.

A gay striker can boot a ball into the back of a net as well as a straight striker - so 'the game' is not relevent. It's about people. People are the important component here.

It's not important if a player is Jewish, but it would be bloody important if he were Jewish and pretended to be an athiest because of fear of anti-semetism.