Robbie Rogers: why coming out as gay meant I had to leave football'': http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...coming-out-gay
In England, Rogers became acutely aware of the impossibility of being a publicly-out gay footballer. He was an established international and his most recent caps had been won under Jürgen Klinsmann – whose first game in charge ended in a draw, against Mexico, after an equaliser from Rogers.
But he understood the bitter truth: "In football it's obviously impossible to come out – because no-one has done it. No one. It's crazy and sad. I thought: 'Why don't I step away and deal with this and my family and be happy?' Imagine going to training every day and being in that spotlight? It's been a bit of a circus anyway – but that would have been crazy. And you wouldn't have much control because clubs are pushing you in different directions.
"I was just fearful. I was very fearful how my team-mates were going to react. Was it going to change them? Even though I'd still be the same person would it change the way they acted towards me – when we were in the dressing room or the bus?"
In all professional sport, dressing room "banter", in that euphemistic phrase, can be callous. "Especially football," Rogers stresses. How did he react when homophobic quips were made – even though his team-mates were oblivious to his sexuality? "There were different emotions. Sometimes I would feel bad for them. Sometimes I would laugh because it was kinda funny. And, sometimes, it got malicious.
"That was when I would get this awful feeling in my stomach. I would turn my head and try to chat about other things. They often don't mean what they say. It's that pack mentality – they're trying to get a laugh, they're trying to be the top guy. But it's brutal. It's like high school again – on steroids."
Rogers speaks warmly of individual footballers. "They're amazing people, really. Professional footballers are very interesting and from all walks of life. They have great stories when you get them away from the banter and the pack. They can really open up. To become a professional footballer there is something special about you. You need this drive, this hunger."
Yet there is also something diseased at the heart of professional football – epitomised by its attitude towards homosexuality. "Football is an amazing sport," Rogers says. "But it is also a brutal sport that picks people up and slams them on their heads. Adding the gay aspect doesn't make a great cocktail."
What would have happened if Rogers had still been playing for Leeds when he came out? "That would have been interesting," he says wryly. "I don't think I would have been able to go training the next day. That would be so scary. The guys might have said, 'That's great, Robbie.' Maybe. But because no-one's done it and because of the things I've heard in the dressing room I just thought: 'I need to get away from this – make my announcement, find peace, go from there.' So I can never imagine announcing that at Leeds."
Could he have come out while playing for Columbus in the US? "No. Not at any club – anywhere."
And, back in this country, if he was playing for Leeds and they were away to Millwall today? "Woah!" Rogers exclaims. "I can't even think about that."
We end up laughing, helplessly, which shows how much football has to change. "Definitely. Maybe a lot of fans aren't homophobic. But, in a stadium, sometimes they want to destroy you. In the past I would have said: 'They don't know I'm gay so it doesn't mean anything.' But, now they know it, am I going to jump in the stands and fight them?"
It would be incredibly powerful if a gay footballer could face down that hate and abuse – just as black sportsmen like Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali stood up to racism in America.
"Sure," Rogers says. "I've thought about that. I might be strong enough but I don't know if that's really what I want. I'd just want to be a footballer. I wouldn't want to deal with the circus. Are people coming to see you because you're gay? Would I want to do interviews every day, where people are asking: 'So you're taking showers with guys – how's that?'
"If you're playing well it will be reported as: 'The gay footballer is playing well.' And if you have a bad game it'll be: 'Aw, that gay dude … he's struggling because he's gay.' **** it. I don't want to mess with that."
Yet the response to his coming out seems to have been overwhelmingly positive. "It's been very warm, very accepting. Guys I played with have sent messages saying, 'You know I was joking when I said that?' I say, 'Bro, don't worry about it. You were hilarious. Don't worry.'"
He becomes thoughtful when asked if he knows any gay footballers. "No. Even now, one of my best friends said: 'Do we know anyone else in football who could possibly be gay?' And we couldn't think of anyone. We're such great actors because we're afraid to let people know who we are. We've been trained by our agents how to do interviews, how to present ourselves. No footballer has since said to me, 'Robbie, thank you, I'm gay too…' I don't know if anyone will."
Many gay men, surely, are playing professional football? "Of course. Tons. I mean footballers dress really well [he laughs]."
Could he imagine a young gay footballer knocking on his manager's door to ask for advice? "It would be so tough. Would I have had the same opportunities when I was younger if I'd come out? I don't think so. There would have been that mentality: 'Oh he's gay … how will that affect the team?'"
The way in which Fashanu was treated has been a bleak warning to any gay footballer. He might have been a million pound player but Brian Clough, one of the greatest managers this country has produced, demeaned him at Nottingham Forest as "a bloody poof." Fashanu's tragic end should never be forgotten.
"I read a little about him," Rogers says. "It's such a sad story because my coming out was so positive. I wish everyone could have that same support. If people say bad things about you, you can give your parents a call. But hearing comments Justin's family made – oh my gosh."
As we consider the way in which Clough treated Fashanu at Forest, Rogers says: 'I've heard it recently from coaches. Obviously they're not homophobic but they'll say: 'Don't pass the ball like a fag.' That's when you look at them and think, '**** you. What are you talking about? Does it make a difference, if you're gay or straight, as to how you pass the ball? Are you on drugs?' I guess they say it because they think it's funny. There's the stereotype of a gay man being soft and flamboyant."
Rogers sounds like a necessary force for change. He shrugs. "About a month ago I would've thought: 'I don't want to be a spokesman for gay footballers.' I have so many different things I'm interested in. But after thousands of emails, I'm thinking, OK, how can I help others? How can I make some positive change? How am I going to reach young Robbie and tell him to be himself? He might not fit the gay or the football stereotype. That's one thing I definitely want to do – break some barriers and kill some stereotypes."
Hopefully this is the start of a trend. It's the last real taboo to be addressed in sport...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22341153
US basketball player Jason Collins has come out as gay, the first active male athlete in a major American professional team sport to do so.
I like high energy football. A little bit rock and roll. Many finishes instead of waiting for the perfect one.
If we get shafted by the Germans again tongues will begin to wag.
'German football club will fly rainbow flag permanently at their stadium': http://www.thescore.ie/st-pauli-rain...89494-Jul2013/
GERMAN SECOND DIVISION club St Pauli will fly the rainbow flag, symbolising gay pride, permanently at their Hamburg stadium, the club announced on Thursday.
“The club has been active for many years against homophobia and discrimination,” said St Pauli vice-president Dr. Gernot Stenger.
“With this flag, we are giving this highly-visible sign that these issues have great importance at St. Pauli and we are working hard on them.”
Dirk Bruellau of the club’s gay and lesbian fan club Queerpass Sankt Pauli, backed the move and said it would now be a “quantum leap for the football world” if one of the 18 clubs in Germany’s top-flight Bundesliga followed suit.
Interestingly, a "quantum leap" actually means the smallest physically possible change you could make without changing anything at all. Strange that its colloquial meaning is the exact opposite!
Last edited by peadar1987; 12/07/2013 at 9:51 PM.
You've made a real quantum leap to get on to that!
'Liverpool FC staff get insults guide to curb fans' abuse': http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...yside-23510657
Liverpool Football Club staff have been issued with a guide to unacceptable language so they can help eradicate verbal abuse from fans.
The handbook highlights "offensive" phrases including "don't be a woman", "play like a girl" and "that's gay".
The club said they wanted to stamp out slurs against race, religion, sexual orientation, gender and disability.
Amusing: http://www.theguardian.com/football/...-sports-man-up
Liverpool's kit supplier, Warrior Sports, has fallen foul of the club's new guidelines on unacceptable language by telling customers to "man up" on its website.
"Man up" is one of several phrases the Anfield club deems unacceptable on a list issued to members of staff as part of a wider education programme aimed at combating discrimination. Others in the section on gender include "queen", "princess", "play like a girl" and "don't be a woman".
The club's official sportswear supplier, however, requests that people "Man Up, Sign Up" to receive its product updates by email.
Eagle-eyed readers have also highlighted that the Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers told the Anfield Wrap about his players: "If you get little niggles or little injuries, you've got to man up," when his squad was stretched before the January transfer window.
Mateja Kežman embarrasses himself: http://inserbia.info/news/2013/08/ho...mateja-kezman/
The Dutch coach Louis Van Gaal, as well as former players Ronald de Boer and Pierre van Hooijdonk, attended the gay pride in Amsterdam and supported homosexuals in the country.
Former PSV footballer and member of the Serbian national team, now sports director at Vojvodina FC, Mateja Kezman, was unpleasantly surprised by the gesture of Van Gaal.
Mateja said that he believes that homosexuality is a disease which should not be promoted and he would not like for the Football Association of Serbia to support gay pride in Serbia one day. He added that attitude toward homosexuality is well known, that he believes homosexuality is distancing from Christ and a walk toward spiritual doom.
Kezman also said that he knows Van Gaal very well, but will certainly not call him to tell him he did a wrong thing. However, if they ever get to the subject, Kezman will not have the problem to tell him to his face what he thinks about it.
The president of the Football Association of Serbia, Tomislav Karadzic, said that they haven’t thought about following steps of the Dutch colleagues.
He said that the event in Holland has never been a topic on the agenda of the Football Association of Serbia, so he is unable to express views. He believes that in this matter, as well as always in everything, to follow the policy of the state.Originally Posted by Mateja Kežman
Does he think being a c**t is a disease that should not be promoted?
"he believes homosexuality is distancing from Christ and a walk toward spiritual doom." > I lose respect for people when they bring religion into a discussion...
But you were fine with the homophobia?
No that too, but the religious s**t really makes me sick!
'Joey Barton Wears Rainbow Laces For Stonewall's Anti-Homophobia Campaign': http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013...?utm_hp_ref=uk
In light of past comments, Barton certainly wasn't a footballer I'd have envisaged pioneering this initiative. He does enjoy his publicity, mind...Joey Barton has called for professional footballers in England and Scotland to support a campaign addressing homophobia in the game by wearing rainbow laces in their boots next weekend.
Barton, who was accused of making a homophobic gesture at Fernando Torres three seasons ago and called Brazil defender Thiago Silva a "ladyboy" earlier this year, said "people's sexuality shouldn't be an issue".
Sets of laces have been sent to all Premier League and Football League clubs, plus the 42 teams in the Scottish Professional Football League by gay rights charity Stonewall.
And in relation to the use of "hate speech" at football games; 'PM: Spurs fans 'Yid' chants should not be prosecuted': http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-24133145
Obviously, I always try to adopt an opposite stand to Cameron, just because he's David Cameron, but I find myself agreeing with him here. I've always perceived the reappropriation of such terminology to be empowering, as a method of mocking or transcending racism rather than reinforcing it.Tottenham Hotspur fans who chant the word "Yid" should not be prosecuted, according to the prime minister.
David Cameron told the Jewish Chronicle there was a difference between Spurs fans "describing themselves as Yids" and the word being used as an insult.
The north London club have a strong Jewish following who have been the target of anti-Semitic abuse, but some fans use the term.
Spurs have sent a questionnaire to fans to ask if the practice should stop.
The prime minister's comments came after the Football Association (FA) issued a statement warning supporters that the use of such words could result in a banning order or criminal charges.
Mr Cameron said: "There's a difference between Spurs fans self-describing themselves as Yids and someone calling someone a Yid as an insult.
"You have to be motivated by hate. Hate speech should be prosecuted - but only when it's motivated by hate."
Chants of "Yids", "Yid Army" and "Yiddos" are regularly heard in the home stands at White Hart Lane.
During Saturday's match between Spurs and Norwich, fans reacted to the FA statement by chanting "Yid Army" and "We'll sing what we want".
The charity Community Security Trust, which advises Jewish groups on security, said although the use of the word "Yid" by fans "does not justify prosecution", it is still offensive.
"It remains an offensive word that can upset many Jews both inside and outside the football context," a spokesperson said.
"Ultimately, ridding football of anti-Semitism needs to involve Spurs fans voluntarily dropping the Y-word from their songbook."
Last edited by DannyInvincible; 18/09/2013 at 11:23 AM.
A bunch of mainly white, christian men chanting "yids" doesn't sound like transcending racism to me.
Spurs do have a significant Jewish following though, do they not? Can there be racist intent if it's reappropriated as a term of endearment?
Spurs have always a small minority of Jewish supporters from the area around Tottenham. Why on earth this would entitled the large majority of non-Jewish fans to "take back" an anti-Jewish slur is beyond me. It's like Arsenal fans calling themselves the n-word.
The most mental part of it all is that Saturday was Yom Kippur so there wouldn't have been a single observant Jew in the stadium as the Spurs fans asserted their right to call themselves Yids.
Wouldn't some Celtic fans who may not necessarily have any Irish Catholic roots themselves self-identify as "tims"? Would you interpret such as insulting when it's reappropriated as a label of tribal pride?
Nor me, especially when it's emerging from the backwoods of north london. Nevertheless I agree with Cameron, it's not a race hate issue that calls for a prosecution. It's something else, though I don't know what that is.
Much of the current rumpus about this issue is coming from the head of the Society of Black Lawyers, Peter Herbert. He is the self appointed guardian/watchdog of all things racist in football, i.e. according to his definition of what constitutes racism. He shows all the signs of being a.publicity attention seeker, making mountains out of molehills. Selecting an issue for publicity rather than actual content.
Reminds me of our very own supporters rep, whose name escapes me.
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