Where are all the Gay Football Players? — Pick Your Passns

Contents:

• MEET THE 16 OUT GAY AND BI FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE NFL’S 103-YEAR HISTORY
• HERE ARE EIGHT OUT AND PROUD MALE GAY FOOTBALLERS
• PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLERS OPENLY GAY RELATNSHIP AMID WORLD CUP NTROVERSY
• JAKE DANIELS BE FIRST UK MALE FOOTBALLER TO E OUT AS GAY SCE 1990
• JOSH CAVALLO BE ONE OF THE FEW PROFSNAL MEN'S FOOTBALLERS TO E OUT AS GAY
• WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS
• WHY THERE ARE STILL NO OPENLY GAY FOOTBALLERS THE PREMIER LEAGUE
• THE 39 CURRENT NFL PLAYERS HAVE ALL PLAYED WH AN OUT GAY TEAMMATE
• JOSH CAVALLO: ONLY OPENLY GAY TOP-FLIGHT MALE FOOTBALLER SAYS FIFA’S ‘ONELOVE’ ARMBAND BAN HAS MA HIM FEEL ‘EXCLUD’
• UNNAMED PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLER REVEALS HE IS GAY LETTER BUT SAYS HE N'T GO PUBLIC
• GAY PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLER 'VERY LIKELY' TO E OUT NEXT YEAR, SAYS JT FASHANU'S NIECE
• NOTABLE GAY PLAYERS EXIST
• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

MEET THE 16 OUT GAY AND BI FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE NFL’S 103-YEAR HISTORY

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. 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.

HERE ARE EIGHT OUT AND PROUD MALE GAY FOOTBALLERS

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. Likewise, he also participated the 7th edn of the realy TV show Lets Dance and beme the first-ever gay to w the ntt.

Likewise, The Jt Fashanu All-stars football special event started Brighton to honor him and promote homosexualy football. Furthermore, he is one of the send Brish football players to publicly e out as gay after Jt Fashanu did 30 years ago.

PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLERS OPENLY GAY RELATNSHIP AMID WORLD CUP NTROVERSY

Therefore, a suable environment should be created through tn as a drivg factor, so gay footballers don’t feel prsured to reveal their sexualy.

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.

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

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

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

Perkz/@rlnassib/@rkrelentls)When Kansas State offensive tackle and NFL hopeful Stt Frantz me out to the natn as gay, he shared that his teammat (to whom he'd e out earlier) had warmly received the news, a sign the most alpha of locker rooms may fally be ready for equaly.

Roy "Sugar Bear" Simmons, an offensive leman for the New York Giants and Washgton Redsks, beme the send NFL player ever to publicly reveal he was gay. So Coach Vce Lombardi knew McDonald was gay when he took over learship of the team 1969, but ma clear there would be no discrimatn his locker room, those close to the legend say. Cornerback Wa Davis, who played preason wh the Tennsee Tans, Seattle Seahawks and Washgton Redsks and spent two seasons wh NFL Europe teams Berl Thunr and Barcelona Dragons, me out as gay 2012, nearly a after his retirement.

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

He would later nfirm his sexualy on CNN and s down wh ESPN to discs the challeng of growg up gay Jamai and playg football while closeted. He later cled to sign wh the Tennsee Tans and Dallas Cowboys before g out as gay at 24, he told Philalphia Magaze revealed to the magaze that he'd dated a male cheerlear at Purdue who had threatened to out him then.

The Bachelor star and former football player (who was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted ee agent and was on the practice squad of the Oakland Rairs and the Philalphia Eagl) me out as gay April of 2021, sayg he had fally e to terms wh his sexualy and the "next step all of this was sort of lettg people know.

The Rairs leman ma NFL history durg Pri Month 2021 when he me out as gay a heartfelt Instagram post, beg the first active NFL player to e out as member of the LGBTQ+ muny. The Hampton Universy player ma history October of 2022 when he me out as gay an Instagram Story post, beg the first out gay football player at a Historilly Black College or Universy. However, there have been several pneerg male gay footballers who cid to e out of the closet and proclaim their sexualy to the world.

WHY THERE ARE STILL NO OPENLY GAY FOOTBALLERS THE PREMIER LEAGUE

The South Ain player acknowledg that most of his teammat accepted his sexualy, however, he has faced homophobic slurs om opposg teams.

He also said that he has met several closeted gay soccer players Ai, where homosexualy is crimalised several untri. I don’t wish the hostily I felt on anyone, bee not everyone n survive homophobia a sport like football, ” he told MambaOnle recently. “My advice to a young gay footballer at any level or any standard is jt to be themselv, ” Davis said that same year.

The Atralian plays for Alai Uned Football Club and has been the victim of shameful homophobic abe om game-goers and on social media. In May 2022, Jake Daniels me out at the age of 17  an open letter on the Blackpool Football Club’s webse, beg at that time the UK’s only openly gay active male profsnal footballer. He also acknowledged that “beg gay, or bi or queer men’s football is still a taboo” and that he is likely to face some gree of homophobia the sport.

THE 39 CURRENT NFL PLAYERS HAVE ALL PLAYED WH AN OUT GAY TEAMMATE

After stgglg wh his sexualy for years, he me as gay September 2022, makg him the first openly gay player Sttish football sce Jt Fashanu. Now, has been revealed that two Premier League teammat are a gay an exclive story by The Sun, the two Premier League footballers are reportedly open about beg a gay relatnship, at least as far as the drsg room go. Earlier this month, the Qatari ambassador to the UK had warned same-sex upl not to kiss public if they will travel to watch the World, World Cup ambassador Khalid Salman ed outrage last week after sayg that beg gay is tantamount to havg "damage the md.

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

This is why the possibily of havg two active Premier League players speak up about beg gay is such an important topic for the LGBTQ+ muny at the moment. There are mours about other gay players, but remas to be seen if they will e out publicly while still nversatns about the topic will surely ntue to the World Cup, pecially wh thoands of spectators flockg to Qatar to enjoy the event. The Blackpool forward Jake Daniels has end s of silence wh men’s football to bee the first player the UK to e out as gay sce Jt Fashanu 1990.

Photograph: Pl Dennis/TGS Photo/ShutterstockDaniels’s revelatn is a strikg landmark that when men’s football is more engaged wh social issu than any recent time, but still unable to ce progrs LGBTQ reprentatn wh the year Alai Uned’s Josh Cavallo beme the only male top-flight profsnal footballer the world to e out as gay, but others are yet to follow.

In six months the men’s World Cup will be played Qatar, where homosexualy is illegal, and Cavallo revealed to the Guardian he would be “sred” to play at the tournament, the pnacle of world English football specifilly, the shadow of the talented and unfulfilled Fashanu still lgers over the game. The England ternatnal me out at the end of his reer and was to take his own life eight years later, Fashanu, Jt’s niece, who ns a charable foundatn his name, said that Daniels’s cisn would “e as a huge fort to the many footballers at all levels of the game still secretly livg as gay and who still feel unable to e out”.

UNNAMED PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLER REVEALS HE IS GAY LETTER BUT SAYS HE N'T GO PUBLIC

Atralian footballer Josh Cavallo has e out as gay, beg one of the few profsnal men's soccer players the world to do so. Ashamed I would never be able to do what I love and be gay, hidg who I really am to pursue a dream I always wished for as a kid.

GAY PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLER 'VERY LIKELY' TO E OUT NEXT YEAR, SAYS JT FASHANU'S NIECE

Male profsnal athlet e out as the first openly gay players currently participatg their rpective sports, cludg NHL hockey player Le Prokop and NFL fensive end Carl Nassib. 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. 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.

"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.

NOTABLE GAY PLAYERS EXIST

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.

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

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.

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.