Ted Lasso season 3's gay footballer storyle has arrived at jt the right time | Brish GQ

Contents:

• EXCLIVE: TED LASSO CREATORS HANDLED THEIR GAY FOOTBALLER STORYLE A 'REHG' AND 'SIGNIFINT' WAY, SAY LEADG LGBTQ MENTATORS AS H TV SHOW IS PRAISED FOR SHOWG 'HUMANY'
• TED LASSO SEASON 3'S GAY FOOTBALLER STORYLE HAS ARRIVED AT JT THE RIGHT TIME
• “TED LASSO” JT REVEALED THAT THIS CHARACTER IS GAY AND CLOSETED
• TED LASSO'S BRENDAN HUNT EXPLAS POWER OF GAY FOOTBALLER STORYLE
• IS COL GAY TED LASSO? IS HE BASED ON A REAL SOCCER PLAYER?
• 'TED LASSO' PRAISED FOR "REHG" GAY FOOTBALLER STORYLE
• ‘TED LASSO’ ACTOR BILLY HARRIS ON WHAT IT TOOK TO UNRSTAND GAY SOCCER PLAYER COL: ‘HE WASN’T LIVG HIS TE SELF’

EXCLIVE: TED LASSO CREATORS HANDLED THEIR GAY FOOTBALLER STORYLE A 'REHG' AND 'SIGNIFINT' WAY, SAY LEADG LGBTQ MENTATORS AS H TV SHOW IS PRAISED FOR SHOWG 'HUMANY'

The third season of Apple TV+'s Ted Lasso saw an AFC Richmond player e out publicly, much to the light of fans around the Lasso's wrers, producers and directors have been appld for their "rehg" pictn of a gay profsnal footballer g out to his team-mat durg the show's fal the third episo of the last seri, was revealed that first-team player Col Hugh was a relatnship wh a man and hidg his sexualy om the rt of the squad, his ach and the over the urse of the season, Col, wh help om journalist Trent Crimm, who also turns out to be gay, fds the bravery to open up to his team-mat before kissg his boyiend ont of a sold-out Richmond home crowd after the team's fal touchg manner wh which Ted Lasso's creators handled a difficult storyle did not go unnoticed, wh fans takg to social media to praise those volved brgg to life the heartfelt style which ns throughout the popular Apple TV+ now two leadg LGBTQ mentators have plimented those behd Col's journey for portrayg a ser topic an 'advanced' and 'signifint' way to lns of viewers around the world. "And then of urse we fd out why is bee he's also gay. In the last eighteen months, at least three active footballers have e out as gay across the world: first Jake Cavallo Atralia, followed by Blackpool youth player Jake Daniels here England and, most recently, Czech ternatnal Jakub Jankto over Prague.

A groundswell of support for gay cln the sport has rultantly grown, wh active players and punds alike g out solidary and allyship: Daniels was celebrated by the lik of England pta Harry Kane and long-time Uned goalie David Gea; ahead of the ntroversial World Cup Qatar, France forward Antoe Griezmann lled homophobia not “an ia, [but] a crime. ”Wh around 550 active players the Premier League, 's a statistil likelihood that at least one player is gay, but no one has e out while playg England's top tier sce Jt Fashanu 1990, who endured hostily om the prs and died of suici eight years later. The world has changed sce then, wh the vast majory of people England supportg gay rights, but g out as a top-drawer footballer — the first 33 years, not least — remas a fearful prospect.

And what a thg that would be: an openly gay footballer the sypy fictn of Ted Lasso's Premier League before, y'know, the real-life one. Disregard as the product of imagative wokery all you like, but Ted Lasso season 3 is makg up for s historil lack of gay rep wh an arc that uld go some way further turng the real-world dial. The other shoe seemed about to drop last week's Amsterdam-set episo when Trent followed Col to a gay bar, promptg the athlete to swiftly ex wh the wrer on his heels.

TED LASSO SEASON 3'S GAY FOOTBALLER STORYLE HAS ARRIVED AT JT THE RIGHT TIME

Ted Lasso watchers have speculated that AFC Richmond player Col Hugh (Billy Harris) is gay sce early season two, and those spicns were nfirmed season three’s third episo. Trent then shar wh Col that he’s gay as well, openg the door for Col to — perhaps — tell his teammat and ach.

“TED LASSO” JT REVEALED THAT THIS CHARACTER IS GAY AND CLOSETED

It seems like sports, particularly men’s sports, is among the fields that has been slowt to adapt and accept gay people. There’s a le episo three where Isaac [Kola Bokni] says “That’s a b gay” a risive way. It’s kd of a two-way street, bee wh the world of the show, no one knows about Trent beg gay eher.

"Ted Lasso, an Apple TV+ show centerg around the tular character (Jason Suikis), an Amerin llege football ach who is hired to ach an English Premier League soccer team, AFC Richmond, even though he has no experience, has jt troduced s first gay until now, this progrsive seri has yet to feature an out character. Their openns has also been met wh overwhelmg support and celebratn, for the most UK not that there are around 550 active players the Premier League, which mak statistilly likely that at least one player is gay.

Although England as a whole has changed support of gay rights, the Ted Lasso storyle uld be settg up an openly gay footballer the fictnal Premier League to hopefully fluence the real episos of Ted Lasso stream on Apple TV+ every Lasso — Season 3 Official Trailer | Apple TV+All roads have led to this. Three episos to s third — and possibly fal — season, the sports edy TV seri Ted Lasso jt revealed that one of s regular characters is gay and closeted.

TED LASSO'S BRENDAN HUNT EXPLAS POWER OF GAY FOOTBALLER STORYLE

“We’ve known for a while that Col was gay, ” Hunt told the U. Hunt said that he and the show’s wrers always tend to troduce a gay character on the show’s fictnal team, but opted to have an existg character e out rather than stg someone new. They even toyed wh the ia of revealg that Col was gay and closeted Season 2, but stead merely seed the ia wh a le which the character mentns Grdr.

Meanwhile, we also learn that Col is secretly gay and his his sexualy for the sake of his reer.

However, Trent Crimm later se Col and Michael makg out an alleyway, nfirmg that Col is gay. However, unlike Col, neher Wilson nor Jam is gay real life.

IS COL GAY TED LASSO? IS HE BASED ON A REAL SOCCER PLAYER?

In realy, there is still a arth of Premier League players who are openly gay. Due to the negative impact on several players’ reers who me out as gay, the footballg landspe England has had issu wh LGBTQ+ reprentatn the sport. However, most recently, Jake Daniels, an English profsnal footballer who plays for Blackpool the EFL Champnship, publilly me out as gay.

'TED LASSO' PRAISED FOR "REHG" GAY FOOTBALLER STORYLE

Born on January 8, 2005, the eighteen-year-old Daniels ma his senr but for Blackpool May 2022 before g out as gay later that month. Meanwhile, the former German left-wger Thomas Hzlsperger is the only openly gay footballer to have played the Premier League.

Acrdg to Hunt, the shownners have known for “a while” that Welsh wg Col Hugh is gay. Some reful viewers may have noticed that the third episo of Season 2, Hugh mentns that Keeley’s datg app Bantr is spelled like the gay datg app Grdr. This episo troduc a strong new plot pot: Welsh-born AFC Richmond wg Col Hugh is gay.

Instead, he was sentially one of the players to make up the numbers as part of the locker room scenery, wh ocsnal moments of screen time to fill shas of his is, until last week's episo, when the openg scen revealed Col is gay. Col's sexualy do not appear to be somethg he has shared wh his Richmond mat, reflectg the bter realy of profsnal football and s arth of openly gay male TV+Yet Col's cisn unr threat the fal scen, when journalist Trent Crimm (Jam Lance), who has been followg the team om pillar to post to wre a book about their journey, spots Col and Michael kissg a shroud alleyway outsi the rtrant.

‘TED LASSO’ ACTOR BILLY HARRIS ON WHAT IT TOOK TO UNRSTAND GAY SOCCER PLAYER COL: ‘HE WASN’T LIVG HIS TE SELF’

If we were hopg for an answer to that qutn the latt episo, we were spectacularly nied fact, if you had somehow missed the third episo and skipped straight to the fourth, you would be likely unaware that Col is even gay. Once aga, a queer storyle on TV has bee wrapped up the cultural strajacket of queer trma storyl, wh s ugly roots the 'Bury your gays' televisn 's storyle on Ted Lasso weeks after Channel 4's major Gee Michael documentary Outed, which expertly unpacked the powerful force of the tabloid prs a horrifilly homophobic climate. "While Ted Lasso has been plagued wh LGBTQ+ omissn prev seasons, now fac a reckong over how Col's story arc uld unfold and whether uld only pound the culture of shame facg the gay muny TV+Ted Lasso -creator Brendan Hunt, who plays Coach Beard, said that while beg openly gay the sport is "still taboo", there are creasgly more players g out.