Former England fenr Graeme Le Sx says more needs to be done to support gay footballers the sport.
Contents:
- GRAEME LE SX’S BATTLE AGAST HOMOPHOBIC ABE AND WHY THE DOOR IS OPENG FOR GAY PLAYERS TO E OUT FOOTBALL
- GRAEME LE SX LLS FOR MORE SUPPORT FOR GAY FOOTBALLERS
- GAY TNTS LED TO LE SX OUTBURST
- GRAEME LE SX HAS SPOKE OUT ABOUT THE GAY SLURS HE RECEIVED DURG HIS REER
- GRAEME LE SX: A GAY FOOTBALLER WOULD NOT SUFFER THE SAME ABE AS JT FASHANU
- LE SX SHOCKED BY BECKHAM'S HYPOCRISY AND "GAY" TNTS
GRAEME LE SX’S BATTLE AGAST HOMOPHOBIC ABE AND WHY THE DOOR IS OPENG FOR GAY PLAYERS TO E OUT FOOTBALL
A married heterosexual, Graeme Le Sx endured years of abe om fellow players and fans. But is the ti turng for gay players to fally e out? * is graham le saux gay *
Twenty years have passed sce Robbie Fowler brandished his backsi and goad Graeme Le Sx perhaps the most homophobic gture ever to take place on a football pch. We have eked towards a progrsive society where gay people n feel more fortable openg up about their sexualy, and the time has e for football, as a reflectn of society, to echo that environment. When you nsir that two percent of the UK male populatn intify as gay, is que shockg that there has only been one high-profile footballer who has ever e out durg his playg reer.
Le Sx beme the target for the homophobic tnts bee he didn’t f the mould of your “typil” footballer. He was not gay and has said he would have no issue wh a gay player his drsg room, but beme unrstandably upset at the beg risively labelled as a homosexual. As a rult, there was somethg odd about havg to repeatedly ny the accatns whout offendg or disrpectg the gay muny.
He wonred if beg falsely labelled gay uld even be famatory, due to the potentially hazardo implitns on his profsnal reer. Precent has told that some ach would avidly reject the signg of a player they knew he was gay, as would a rather sizeable portn of supporters at that time, as surveys illtrated. It is signifint to note that one year prevly, Jt Fashanu – who remas the only high-profile player to e out as gay durg his reer – opened up about his sexualy.
GRAEME LE SX LLS FOR MORE SUPPORT FOR GAY FOOTBALLERS
* is graham le saux gay *
He agreed to an exclive wh The Sun, and on 22 October 1990 the tabloid ran the headle “£1m Football Star: I AM GAY. Now he’d be hailed a hero … you’ve got to remember the public’s perceptn of homosexualy at that time was that was an abomatn. Forrt manager Brian Clough, perhaps a product of his time, banned Fashanu om trag wh the first team when he disvered that he was gay.
They punished Fowler far more severely for pokg fun at mours circulatg about him snortg e than for his blatant attempt to publicly huiate Le Sx and sentially enurage homophobia. The homophobic abe he was subjected to was brought to the foreont of the sport, and he adms that the tnts quietened the stands om that moment on. Former Daily Mirror edor and pantomime cric Piers Man later enpsulated the scenar wh a felico quote: “Nobody r if Le Sx is gay or not.
GAY TNTS LED TO LE SX OUTBURST
After ex-Aston Villa midfielr Thomas Hzlsperger me out as gay, a notor cint betwee... * is graham le saux gay *
Rather ashamedly, yet telligibly, he utned gay players agast g out: “I’d say: ‘Don’t.
In January 2014, Germany ternatnal and former Aston Villa midfielr Thomas Hzlsperger me out as gay, after he hung up his boots as a profsnal footballer.
GRAEME LE SX HAS SPOKE OUT ABOUT THE GAY SLURS HE RECEIVED DURG HIS REER
Is he gay? Is he not? Is important? It nearly prived the English Premier League off one of s most talented players of his Bee I had different terts, bee I didn’t feel fortable the laddish drkg culture that was prevalent English football the late 1980s, was generally… * is graham le saux gay *
His announcement was greeted wh an overwhelmg wave of support, and he is hopg his actns will help spark a movement and help gay footballers e out. At the moment, England’s only openly gay player is Liam Davis of non-league Cleethorp Town. Rugby League’s Keegan Hirst of the Wakefield Wildts beme the first gby league star to e out as gay 2015, and the reactn he received was of wispread support.
In a 2017 terview wh Donald McRae of The Guardian, Hirst rells tellg his ach, John Kear, that he is gay: “I’ll never fet what he said.
The Premier League has a rponsibily to provi a safe space for gay players to e out and set an example for other leagu to do the same. Kick It Out has done great work takg a zero-tolerance approach to racism the past 25 years, and Football v Homophobia and Stonewall’s Rabow Lac mpaign are aimg to replite s succs agast homophobia.
GRAEME LE SX: A GAY FOOTBALLER WOULD NOT SUFFER THE SAME ABE AS JT FASHANU
Former England fenr Graeme Le Sx tells PkNews ’s wrong to assume an openly gay premiership footballer would face the same amount of homophobic abe as Jt Fashanu. * is graham le saux gay *
The Premier League partnered wh Stonewall’s Rabow Lac mpaign last year and foc on promotg acceptance of lbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) footballers, wh profsnal and non-league clubs donng rabow loured lac. Arsenal, Manchter Uned and Chelsea were among the big clubs who experienced a spate of homophobic abe on social media after endorsg the mpaign to raise LGBT clivy sports. In a 2016 lumn for The Guardian, Le Sx poted to a BBC Rad 5 live survey on homophobia football.
Nety-two percent of supporters surveyed were said to have no issu if their club signed a gay player, however, a rather sizeable eight percent of fans said they would stop watchg their team altogether. The survey me a week after FA chairman Greg Clarke was cricised for warng gay players agast g out as they would receive “signifint abe.
“I am personally ashamed they don’t feel safe to e out … I would be amazed if we haven’t got any gay players the Premier League. While the FA n be cricised for not dog enough to prevly to bat homophobia, should look to emulate the succsful hard-le stance taken by the English Rugby Unn (RFU). In November 2014, gay referee Nigel Owens was verbally abed by two gby “supporters” while officiatg an ternatnal match between England and Wal at Twickenham.
LE SX SHOCKED BY BECKHAM'S HYPOCRISY AND "GAY" TNTS
His extraordary mental strength and self-ntrol, albe wh a few mor blips, may help pave the way for future gay players to e out. Former England fenr Graeme Le Sx says more needs to be done to support gay Sx suffered years of basels claims about his alleged homosexualy. "The important thg isn't whether or not there are gay players profsnal football, " Le Sx told BBC Rad Jersey.
"Le Sx began his reer at Jersey club St Pl's, gog on to play 513 gam for Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers and his sire not to live the archetypal footballer's life led to unfound accatns that he was gay. Followg Thomas Hzlsperger's disclosure that he was gay January 2014, Le Sx's article om 2007 rurfaced on social media, g Fowler to state on Twter that he had apologised to Le Sx.
After ex-Aston Villa midfielr Thomas Hzlsperger me out as gay, a notor cint between Robbie Fowler and Graeme Le Sx reemerged to the spotlight. While Le Sx is not gay, he had been on the end of vrlic, homophobic abe om the terrac throughout his reer. Bee, says the ex-Chelsea star, his long experience of relentls, sexually-charged bullyg giv him a clear sight to what women have to al wh all the suffered some of the most homophobic abe ever to take place on a football pch, and the fact that he was a happily married heterosexual did nothg to change Sx, 52, who beme the most expensive fenr English footballg history 1997 when he returned to Chelsea om Blackburn for £5ln, was relentlsly teased the locker room and tnted on the pch, by both rival players and believ all stemmed om the fact that he was not really like other footballers.