8 Male Football Players who Dared to Come Out As Gay [2023 Update]

gay in soccer

Two athlet recently g out has highlighted the arth of openly gay players the world of U.S. men's profsnal sports, often dubbed "the last closet" for s lack of LGBTQ reprentatn.

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COLL MART IS U.S. SOCCER'S ONLY OPENLY GAY MALE PLAYER, AND HE'S WORKG TO MAKE THE GAME MORE CLIVE FOR FUTURE LGBTQ+ PLAYERS

A rerd number of out LGBTQ players make this year’s tournament a feast for gay fans. * gay in soccer *

Moments earlier, an opposg player targeted Mart, an openly gay man, wh a homophobic slur, and as they gathered unr a tent at halftime, they discsed how to team was agreement: Somethg need to be done.

"Beg able to have a posive msage e out of a really tough suatn was the silver lg, " he the only openly gay men's profsnal soccer player the Uned Stat -- and one of the few who have ever e out globally -- Mart has e to embrace the signifince of what he reprents, pecially for the LGBTQ+ muny. Play1:48Coll Mart: Locker room support was all I needSan Diego Loyal midfielr Coll Mart says the support om his old teammat at Mnota Uned was a big help to him when he me out as gay.

A GAY GIRL’S GUI TO THE 2023 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

* gay in soccer *

Around those years, havg to hi, havg to remd myself that like, 'Oh, my bt iend on the team, who jt lled another person a f----t, he isn't really homophobic, but he is jt tryg to be hurtful to that person. "Mart is not unique that he didn't have ach who were willg to step to put an end to homophobic language when was ed.

WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS

In 1990, Jt Fashanu beme the first football player to publicly e out as gay. Sce then, only seventeen players have done the same. * gay in soccer *

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. He me out 2011, and won the seventh season of Swedish realy show Let's Dance, beg the first out gay person to w.

8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY

Josh Cavallo, the only openly gay top-flight male soccer player the sport, has told CNN that FIFA’s cisn to ban players om wearg “OneLove” armbands at the Qatar 2022 has ma him feel “exclud.” * gay in soccer *

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.

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. Last time at the 2019 Women’s World Cup, the Netherlands lay claim to the honor of beg the team wh the most out LGBTQ players, but this year Atralia boasts 10 out players and overtak them for the tle of Gayt Team 2k23.

JOSH CAVALLO: ONLY OPENLY GAY TOP-FLIGHT MALE FOOTBALLER SAYS FIFA’S ‘ONELOVE’ ARMBAND BAN HAS MA HIM FEEL ‘EXCLUD’

Wh homophobic attus on the rise the US, the explos of gay Amerin hero on the pch France are a wele sight * gay in soccer *

Ireland’s historic entry to the tournament marks another triumph for out midfielr Sead Farrelly, whose natnal team but and 2023 return to the NWSL e more than six years after retirg om soccer the wake of systemic homophobic and sexual abe wh the league, which the Athletic first reported on 2021. When Nashville Predators prospect Le Prokop me out this week, was the first time an active player unr ntract to an NHL team had ever publicly acknowledged they were gay.

'GO GAYS!': WHY USA'S LGBTQ WORLD CUP STARS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER

Pri month cis wh soccer's Copa Ameri and Euro 2016 but none of the untri is reprented by an openly gay player. * gay in soccer *

Overnight, Prokop's announcement doubled the number of out gay athlet currently playg the untry's four major men's sports — football, basketball, baseball and hockey. Though many retired former players have e out, is more unual for male profsnal athlet to say they are gay while still playg. Gay male athlet face cultural barriers Part of the reason for the lack of out gay players men's profsnal sports uld be that there are jt fewer of them the game.

Rory Magrath, a rearcher at Solent Universy England, has suggted that 's possible gay men are unrreprented profsnal sports.

PRI ON THE PCH: DO SOCCER HAVE A GAY PROBLEM?

The Alai Uned midfielr announced that he was gay a vio posted to the team's Twter acunt Tuday. * gay in soccer *

"Gay men are a fe rource, so they n't exist great numbers every quarter, " Magrath told "Gay men are overreprented some areas, and as a nsequence are gog to be unrreprented sports. That uld be due to the mascule culture at the center of the major sports, experts say, creatg an environment that is ls welg to gay athlet.

Magrath helped thor a study that found that male athlet who me out as gay while still playg sports were largely met wh acceptance by their teammat. Robbie Rogers ma history 2013 when he took the field for the Los Angel Galaxy after as the first openly gay player profsnal U.

NBA player Jason Colls, who me out 2013 while he was still playg the league, later told NPR " went great" when he scribed the perd after announcg he was gay. After Michael Sam beme the first openly gay athlete to be drafted to the NFL 2014, then-Miami Dolphs safety Don Jon tweeted "horrible, " rultg penalti and a spensn.

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

Beg an out gay man and a soccer player is still somethg that’s greeted wh homophobia. See eight out and proud male gay footballers. * gay in soccer *

David Kopay, a former NFL nng back who me out 1975, was unable to land a profsnal achg job after he announced publicly that he was gay. There are key differenc the cultur of men's and women's athletics While few active players the major men's sports leagu have e out, many female profsnal athlet have said publicly that they're gay, om U. But tak guts to e out and reveal one’s genr as gay, which is ually an act of urage a world that is not ndned to accept every genr.

Even though has already been three s sce Jt Fashanu first publicly me out as gay, there are only a few of them revealg .

The primary reason behd many gay footballers not revealg their sexualy publicly is fear of homophobia on and off the pch.

HERE ARE EIGHT OUT AND PROUD MALE GAY FOOTBALLERS

Geneva College, a Christian llege Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, has reportedly fired a gay soccer ach for Instagram posts she ma. * gay in soccer *

So, many profsnal leagu, teams, and players are raisg their voic to fight back agast homophobia so that gay footballers don’t face backlash while g out.

CHRISTIAN COLLEGE FIR GAY SOCCER COACH OVER SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

Dan Cox discs Why Are There so Few Gay & Lbian Athlet Profsnal Sports? 60 gay football players currently the NFL alone... * gay in soccer *

In 2020, durg the San Diego Loyal match agast Phoneix Risg FC, Mart released a story of homophobic sults directed toward him.

One of the hight-profile male football players publicly clarg himself as gay is German footballer Thomas Hzlsperger. Later, after wng the 2014 MLS Cup, Rodgers also beme the first gay male to w the league tle the USA. In 2019, he was also featured a documentary related to homophobia sports named Standg on the Le.

Anton Hysen is the youngt son of retired Swedish footballer Glenn Hysen and one of the gay players football.

GAY & LBIANS IN SOCCER

English and German locker rooms may be more welg of gay players like Thomas Hzlsperger than their unterparts US sports, but there is still far to go, say experts. * gay in soccer *

Later, he was profiled on Swedish broadstg channel TV4 March 2011 a bate show (Can gays play football too?

GERMAN FOOTBALLER'S G-OUT SHOWS CHALLENG OF BEG GAY SOCCER

Makg the rounds on the web this week is this supercut of 'gay' soccer moments set to a sacchare Euro soundtrack. Love your opponent. * gay in soccer *

Likewise, he also participated the 7th edn of the realy TV show Lets Dance and beme the first-ever gay to w the ntt. In 1990, Jt broke the barrier the footballg World when he clared himself gay publicly the newspaper. Later, on 22nd October 1990, The Sun Tabloid newspaper published the headle “£1m Football Star: I AM GAY”.

Likewise, The Jt Fashanu All-stars football special event started Brighton to honor him and promote homosexualy football. In June 2020, former profsnal footballer Tomas Beattie me out as gay durg an Amerin sports channel ESPN terview. Furthermore, he is one of the send Brish football players to publicly e out as gay after Jt Fashanu did 30 years ago.

Therefore, a suable environment should be created through tn as a drivg factor, so gay footballers don’t feel prsured to reveal their sexualy. Josh Cavallo, the only openly gay top-flight male soccer player the sport, has told CNN that FIFA’s cisn to ban players om wearg “OneLove” armbands at the Qatar 2022 has ma him feel “exclud. The Alai Uned midfielr and former Atralian youth ternatnal ma headl last year when he me out as gay.

THIS SUPERCUT OF ‘GAY’ SOCCER MOMENTS SHOWS FOOTBALL IS A REAL MAN-ON-MAN SPORT: WATCH

"Cyd Zeigler, who scrib himself as a gay sports wrer, h out at the backlash, scribg as "crazy" that Amerins would turn their back on the team bee of this tweeted: "LOL the 'Amerins' who are now sudnly hopg the US los at the #WorldCup bee the team has some rabow flags around the facily Qatar. Teammat Tierna Davidson, Adrianna Franch, Ashlyn Harris, and Ali Krieger are all out as gay or bisexual, as are dozens of players on other teams.

Durg the 2018 tournament, two fans were btally beaten an anti-gay attack and at least one gay rights activist was arrted for prottg outsi the Kreml. Unrstandably, may be hard for players to feel as though the anizatn tly has their 2015, Robbie Rogers, the first active Major League Soccer player to e out as gay, wrote an op-ed for USA Today nouncg FIFA’s cisn to embrace LGBTQ-hostile untri like Rsia and Qatar.

GENEVA COLLEGE ALLEGEDLY FIR GAY SOCCER ACH AFTER INSTAGRAM POSTS ABOUT CLIVENS

“If actns speak lour than words, then the msage FIFA sends to gay athlet is pafully clear, ” wrote Rogers. It’s likely there are more lbian and bisexual women on the teams than we know about, pecially sce some participatg untri — like Nigeria, Cameroon and Jamai punish homosexualy wh prison time — and other untri still stggle wh varyg gre of societal homophobia that may keep players closeted. This month’s gay pri celebratns ci wh two of the world’s most high-profile sports tournaments: Copa Ameri — hosted for the first time by the Uned Stat — and Euro while the NFL and NBA have passed the tone of havg openly gay athlet their top profsnal leagu, not a sgle soccer player eher petn has e out as leav the “betiful game” whout any gay male role mols even an age when sponsors are unncerned about players’ Rogers of LA Galaxy plays agast New York Cy FC on Augt 23, 2015.

Is one of only two untri known to have field gay players s senr men’s team — Californian wger Robbie Rogers reprented his untry 18 tim and sred two goals but, like Germany’s midfielr Thomas Hzlsperger, he me out after his ternatnal reer was over. “Once aga we have top ternatnal tournaments featurg the bt players the world and supposedly none of them are gay, ” said Jeff Kfman, a 26-year-old player and external sportg activi director for the world’s first gay soccer club, the New York Ramblers. “There uld be 100 if not 1, 000 gay soccer players across the world at the higher levels of the game, yet no role mols the petns.

”Two years after Michael Sam was drafted to the NFL, and three years after the NBA’s Jason Colls ma history as the first openly gay player the four major U. At a game Sunday Glendale, Ariz., Mexin fans chanted the gay slur "puto" — meang “faggot” — spe a YouTube plea om the team for an end the practice. “At a young age ’s beaten to kids that gay and sports don’t le up and that’s a terrible stereotype that has transcend the generatns.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY IN SOCCER

Christian College Fir Gay Soccer Coach Over Social Media Posts | The Daily Caller .

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