Very, but who makes up society? Yes, all of us, and if people carry on with the 'well, it's always been this way' attitude then nothing will ever change in the world of sport.
It needs one player to make the break-through, potentially lose their career just so people can have a good gossip, and play a good game, and the taboo would be broken.
There are many a rumour about swimmers too, but I can't remember names...
One football player did do all that, but unfortunately Justin Fashanu proceeded to ruin it for himself (and any gay player thinking of following) when in a coaching role overseas, where he could have made more dosh behind the scenes than when he was a player. So let's have none of this "homophobia killed him" rubbish just because he had a lousy brother.
As for quoting my very first line, yes, gay people do make up society too, but many conveniently forget that when accusing others of prejudice. It is NOT homophobic to be DISinterested in someone's sexuality or bedroom habits if they appear in the public eye, and sportspeople care much more about a list of their stats and medal tally upon retirement, than a running commentary of their shags throughout their playing career.
Like I said before, people claim to want to know because of this role model crap, when in reality they just want a good gossip (as shown by the posts above). Why is that?
We'll never know whether Ashley Cole's reputed affair was in part due to those allegations.
It only takes one person sometimes. One person who has the spine to go ahead into the unknown. One person who has the bottle to be different. One person who doesn't care what other people think, they just stand up for what they believe in.
Think of Martin Luther King and Mohammed Ali.
They are real men. They have real bottle, real guts. For me, Mohammed Ali is almost like a god. He stood up for what he thought was right. No vietgong ever called me nigger. He went to prison for that. Martin Luther died for his cause.
Very, but who makes up society? Yes, all of us, and if people carry on with the 'well, it's always been this way' attitude then nothing will ever change in the world of sport.
As for quoting my very first line, yes, gay people do make up society too, but many conveniently forget that when accusing others of prejudice. It is NOT homophobic to be DISinterested in someone's sexuality or bedroom habits if they appear in the public eye, and sportspeople care much more about a list of their stats and medal tally upon retirement, than a running commentary of their shags throughout their playing career.
Exactly!
As I said, people just need to get on with things (may sound ripe coming from me, but I don't always practice what I preach :-/) Ah well...
It only takes one person sometimes. One person who has the spine to go ahead into the unknown. One person who has the bottle to be different. One person who doesn't care what other people think, they just stand up for what they believe in.
Think of Martin Luther King and Mohammed Ali.
They are real men. They have real bottle, real guts. For me, Mohammed Ali is almost like a god. He stood up for what he thought was right. No vietcong ever called me nigger. He went to prison for that. Martin Luther died for his cause.
It's about doing what's right. Not gossip.
Justin Fashanu would have fitted your definition perfectly had he not taken the "I shagged so and so" route when coming out. 4 years later he got himself sacked from his last UK football club for happily attempting to falsify some of the stories he was selling. I don't equate tittle tattle with having guts or standing up for any cause. Had he stayed in America and disproved the charges against him, that would have been gutsy.
While we're on the subject of football only, you'll recall that Sir Alex Ferguson was just as pissed off at his straight players for the hotel incidents last year, as Brian Clough was with Fashanu. So it's not only about representation on the pitch, now there's that much more to lose if you don't conduct yourself in a professional manner when you're off it. Going to gay bars? No problem. Lying about shagging MPs? You've brought your problems on yourself.
Again, it's much easier to call society homophobic than assign responsibility to an individual's actions (perhaps that's the government's fault, though - they've made it fashionable).
David James actually agrees with you Dan, though I'd wonder who the bloody hell he thought he was to presume to tell other people what to do with their life, and whether he'd be happy to have his career curtailed if he was in the same situation (well, curtailed any further than not getting picked for England anymore).
