Why There Few Openly Gay Athlet In Men's Profsnal Sports : NPR

Contents:

• 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
• PRI ON THE PCH: DO SOCCER HAVE A GAY PROBLEM?
• WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS
• BREAKING: SOCCER IS GAY
• JOSH CAVALLO BE ONE OF THE FEW PROFSNAL MEN'S FOOTBALLERS TO E OUT AS GAY

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

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. "Flemmgs was later spend for six gam by the league, and he nied g an anti-gay slur toward Mart. "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.

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. 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.

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

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. “Do soccer have a problem wh beg gay? “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.

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

Stars cludg English Premier League players Per Mertacker, Las Podolski and Olivier Giroud have worn rabow-lored lac as part of a mpaign by Stonewall, backed by England’s Football Associatn and major rporate sponsors, agast homophobia on the pch and at than 100 gay-clive teams reprentg over 30 untri are registered wh the Internatnal Gay & Lbian Football Associatn (IGLFA), whose world cup tak place this Augt Portland, Ore.

“We don’t face any discrimatn when we play and is difficult to unrstand why ’s a problem the hight leagu but clearly is, ” said Jamie Feldman, 29, a midfielr and tstee of the world’s most succsful gay soccer club, London-based Stonewall last month a soccer referee Spa gave up his job after repeatedly beg the target of verbal abe at gam bee of his sexual orientatn. However, Adidas nfirmed Febary that s sponsorship ntracts clu a clse promisg not to ncel als if athlet reveal publicly that they are gay, while Nike announced Tuday was beg a major rporate sponsor of the IGLFA’s gay world Euro 2016, which begs Friday France, a mercial featurg a fictnal gay soccer player and his boyiend is beg aired to promote German railways. Louis Rams as the NFL’s first gay player but was later cut and eventually cid to "step away" om football altogether to protect his own mental health.

Bra’s first gay profsnal player, Jt Fashanu, endured a profsnal and fay backlash after his g out 1990 and end his own troubled life 1998. ”Even gay players acknowledge that fears over team uny uld be holdg some profsnal players back om g out, spe evince to the ntrary.

BREAKING: SOCCER IS GAY

“In a team sport, any profsnal athlete wants what’s bt for the team and they might thk that anythg drawg a lot of attentn to one player for a non-sportg reason go agast the fans chanted a gay slur at a game Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday, spe beg fed by FIFA for prev homophobic York / AP“I n easily image that brgg a lot of outsi scty uld hurt the chemistry of a locker room, but this has already been played out NFL and NBA locker rooms and really don’t matter.

-based gay team, TC Jacks. “Globally speakg, homosexualy isn’t as accepted as is here, and top players are world stars not jt for their club.

”Adams was optimistic that the next World Cup 2018 would be the first tournament wh a gay ternatnal soccer player. ”Meanwhile, as Euro 2016 and Copa Ameri domate this month’s sports pag, gay teams and players ntue to prepare for their own tournaments. 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.

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

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.

He me out 2011, and won the seventh season of Swedish realy show Let's Dance, beg the first out gay person to w. He me out as gay 2022.