Why are more female profsnal footballers openly gay or bisexual than male players? | ITV News

Contents:

• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY
• A COMPLETE LIST OF ALL 61 OUT GAY PLAYERS THE WOMEN’S FOOTBALL PREMIER LEAGUE
• JAGUARS ACH KEV MAXEN RECEIV OVERWHELMG SUPPORT AFTER G OUT AS GAY
• WHY ARE MORE FEMALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLERS OPENLY GAY OR BISEXUAL THAN MALE PLAYERS?
• IN FOC: WHY ARE GAY WOMEN OVER-REPRENTED FOOTBALL?
• AT LEAST 20 FOOTBALLERS PREMIER LEAGUE AND CHAMPNSHIP ARE GAY BUT THEY'RE AAID TO E OUT SAYS EX-CLUB BOSS
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
• 8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY
• JOSH CAVALLO BE ONE OF THE FEW PROFSNAL MEN'S FOOTBALLERS TO E OUT AS GAY
• JAKE DANIELS BE FIRST UK MALE FOOTBALLER TO E OUT AS GAY SCE 1990
• 49ERS' KATIE SOWERS BE NFL'S FIRST OPENLY GAY ACH, SEND WOMAN TO HOLD FULL-TIME POST

KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

Kev Maxen has bee the first male ach a US men’s profsnal sports league to e out as gay.

Per Outsports, as of September 2022, there have only ever been 16 players NFL history to publicly e out as gay or bisexual. Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player league history to announce that he is gay 2021.

A COMPLETE LIST OF ALL 61 OUT GAY PLAYERS THE WOMEN’S FOOTBALL PREMIER LEAGUE

Per Outsports, Maxen is the “first publicly out male ach a major Amerin men’s pro sports league, ” wh WNBA ach Curt Miller, who publicly me out to the media as gay 2015, also a publicly out male ach an Amerin profsnal sports league. Wele to the gayt league all of women’s ternatnal sports, or so I believe: the premier league.

While makg my WNBA list and NWSL list, there are about double as many nfirmed straight people as there are nfirmed gay people a league, wh the rt beg unnfirmed eher directn. However, the Premier League, if you aren’t nfirmed gay, you’re probably jt an unknown, bee there were veryyy few nfirmed straight players.

Wh 9 out gay players on the team, there’s no shortage of players and drama to root for. Wh four out gay players on the team, this ranks the middle for gayns, but closer to the top for ter-team romanc, wh Julia Zigtti Olme and Emma Kullberg beg publilly together. If you’re a Leicter fan, I hate to break to you but this is the least gay team the league- at least publicly.

JAGUARS ACH KEV MAXEN RECEIV OVERWHELMG SUPPORT AFTER G OUT AS GAY

The two out gay players aren’t even datg each other!

Liverpool players Yana Daniels and Jasme Matthews are datg, and the other two out gay players are also public relatnships wh cute uple photos on their stagrams! I hontly don’t know anythg about this team, but there’s a lot of gay players and seems like a fun team to cheer for. Major profsnal sports to publicly e out as gay.

Last Febary, Maxen nnected wh lebacker Carl Nassib, who beme the first active NFL player to e out as gay 2021, as he navigated a path forward. By ITV News Content Producer Alex BleyThe most proment Women's World Cup ever has e to a close wh another USA only did the tournament throw a spotlight on how different the women's game is om the men's, highlighted how different the teams are as the whole tournament, there were at least 41 female players or ach who are openly gay or the male tournament 2018, there were none.

WHY ARE MORE FEMALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLERS OPENLY GAY OR BISEXUAL THAN MALE PLAYERS?

Siarly the Premier League, there is not one sgle player who is openly gay or least five members of the Lns are gay or bisexual, pared wh none of England's male a society where gay marriag n take place, and same-sex upl enjoy the same legal privileg as their heterosexual unterparts, the make-up of both football teams is at odds wh Brish society as a w World Cup aga after victory agast NetherlandsSame-sex marriage me to force the UK 2014. Cred: PAAcrdg to the Office for Natnal Statistics, 2017, around two per cent of the populatn intified as lbian, gay or is not that male football only attracts heterosexual mal, or women's football a high rat of lbian or bisexual players, but largely due to the differg atmospher surroundg the two gam. "Conversely " the men's game there's more racism, sexism and homophobia", he abe directed at footballers supportg #Enough social media boyttSterlg: Football Chiefs dog 'nowhere near enough' to solve racism problemRacist abe directed at footballers supportg #Enough social media boyttDr Stefan Lawrence, an expert masculy sport and senr lecturer at Newman Universy Birmgham, agre that women's football has a "different culture" to men's.

Cred: Three Lns PriThe fact that there were 41 players or ach at the Women's World Cup who were openly gay or bisexual means that beg so the female game is more of a norm.

""People are wag for an ele male player to e out, " adds Di Cunngham, another -founr of Three Lns this jt creas the prsure that the first male player to announce that he is gay or bisexual, will e unr, she adds. "It's such a big al for one footballer to e out, that a few need to do at once to take the prsure off, " believ Dr Rachael Bullgham, a senr lecturer at the Universy of Worcter who specialis homophobia women's sport.

IN FOC: WHY ARE GAY WOMEN OVER-REPRENTED FOOTBALL?

Cred: PAThe way which male and female players are veloped is also believed to be a factor why female players beg gay or bisexual is more the norm than male ele male players have e through football ami where they have been sce a young age.

"It's not bee gay men aren't terted beg profsnal footballers, " he explas, but bee ami are "heteronormative" (where beg heterosexual is the norm) environments. Cred: PAWhile the male game is "heteronormative", acrdg to Lawrence, the female game is the oppose and "homonormative", he says, meang that players who are lbian or bisexual do not hi their sexuali as they feel that beg homosexual is "much more accepted" until the "heteronormative" atmosphere men's football is broken, by players g out, will ntue to self-perpetuate.

AT LEAST 20 FOOTBALLERS PREMIER LEAGUE AND CHAMPNSHIP ARE GAY BUT THEY'RE AAID TO E OUT SAYS EX-CLUB BOSS

"They may have veloped a thick-sk breakg down the barriers they already have, " meang g out is one more a seri of hurdl for them to Magrath, a senr lecturer at Solent Universy who specialis homophobia and masculy agre that female footballers may jt see as yet another barrier they mt break down orr to succeed. Cred: Stonewal FCAnother reason why players may not want to e out is that those at the top of their game will travel around the next men's World Cup is Qatar 2022, a untry which beg homosexual is punishable by up to seven years prison.

"Homophobia football is clg, but some untri is still illegal, " not Bullgham.

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

Players may be fearful about travellg to such untri if they are gay or bisexual, and she adds that their partners might also worry about gog to such untri to support them.

8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY

"The FA is mted to tacklg homophobia, biphobia and transphobia football at every level of the game. Cred: Twter/The FAAll of those terviewed also agreed that the ma factor about why so few male players are openly gay or bisexual is the atmosphere surroundg the game which stems om the stigma historilly attached to the 1967 Sexual Offenc Act crimalised "homosexual acts" between mal aged 21 and over England and Wal and was the first step on a path towards the ongog goal of equaly, did not wipe away prejudic overnight, nor did mean equaly, for example barred two gay men om havg sex a hotel.

As the World Cup go on a untry where homosexualy is illegal, many global football fans are havg to reckon wh the sports' soccer remas one of the most popular sports around the world, very few players have been able to e out and enjoy a succsful reer afterwards. Gay players face prsure om teammat, ownership, ach, and fans over their are some of the men who have e out, fightg those stereotyp, and pavg the way for LGBTQ+ athlet who e after them. Atralian striker Andy Brennan me out as gay 2019, beg the first out gay Atralian male footballer.

JOSH CAVALLO BE ONE OF THE FEW PROFSNAL MEN'S FOOTBALLERS TO E OUT AS GAY

He me out 2011, and won the seventh season of Swedish realy show Let's Dance, beg the first out gay person to w. His early clubs knew he was gay, and he me out durg his reer, beg the first pro footballer to do so. In 2014, he beme Bra's hight-profile out, gay player, and was the first out, gay male player to play at Wembley.

He later me out as gay and has sce spoken out about the difficulti queer players face. He me out as gay 2019. The South Ain footballer beme Ai's first out, gay male footballer when he me out 2015.

Rogers me out as gay 2013, beg the first out gay man to pete a top North Amerin pro sports league when he played for the LA Galaxy that same year. Later, he revealed he qu the sport as a rult of homophobia he faced when he me out. In Foc: Why are gay women over-reprented football?

JAKE DANIELS BE FIRST UK MALE FOOTBALLER TO E OUT AS GAY SCE 1990

Unlike the men’s game, female footballers are typilly characterised as gay, and unlike many stereotyp, this one happens to hold some tth.

The over-reprentatn of gay women the sport is wily accepted but rarely qutned. In recent years, high-profile footballers the UK, and the US pecially, have been vol and unfivg about their sexualy, often mentg on the prevalence of gay women on their team.

” After leadg her US team to victory the World Cup last year, Megan Rapoe stated: “You n’t w a champnship whout gays on your team. This prevalence of gay women football has been the se for a long time, too. Genr and sexualy theorists argue that not plyg wh orthodox l regardg femy, and g the physil body for power, strength and skill, provok visns of masculy, and therefore homosexualy.

49ERS' KATIE SOWERS BE NFL'S FIRST OPENLY GAY ACH, SEND WOMAN TO HOLD FULL-TIME POST

Manchter Uned Women's manager, and former England ternatnal, Casey Stoney is one of the most high profile gay women the Brish game. Player populatns often rely on off-pch activi to protect and expect homosexualy. There have also been sual lks between posns of rponsibily, time spent around teammat and homosexualy.