Search results

Of course Fashanu had concerns about coming out. I've not suggested otherwise. He risked being spurned being spurned by sections of the black community, his church and religion, in addition to concern over how friends, family, supporters, clubs and players would take the news. The trigger to him...

And the 'legacy' of Justin Fashanu is...?

Britain's first openly gay footballer, Justin Fashanu, did not face any of what you mention in your fourth sentence, in the 1990s after coming out. Given the sea change in British general attitudes that solstes highlighted on the first page of this thread, not to mention the separate bubble that...

How circumstances are and how people respond to them are two separate things. You've collapsed the two together. You are relating to people at the receiving end of prejudice as incapable of rising above any verbal abuse they may face, that they are incapable of showing resilience to some...

Yet that's not borne out by what Justin Fashanu experienced at Torquay, Hearts and Aidrie after coming out. As Jim Held, his biographer said: "The predictions made by John [Fashanu] and others that Justin had ruined his prospects of ever playing professional football again by coming out as gay...

If more people related to this fear that gay footballers have of coming out as 'paranoia' it might open the way for others to consider that football players, managers and clubs may not all be homophobes. Just a thought.

Won't be any? Well, there have already been players coming out even without the sea-change in attitude you are saying is a necessary pre-condition. It is not inconceivable that there may be others in future. But as long as people are painting a picture that the current obstacles are presently...

Because whenever there is a general thread about players coming out, very consistently the perspective from Brighton fans has been either 'who cares as long as he's a good player?' to supportive. The stance of the club and the Supporters Club to homophobic chanting has also been very clear. It...

There are many levels to the topic. One is the issue of homophobic chanting. Another is about gay footballers coming out. The PFA has said eight footballers have come out to it but that these players don't wish to make it public because of a fear of a backlash from fans. In the context of this...

But to clarify, Fashanu did not take his own life because of homophobia in football, nor was his professional career ended by homophobia. He played at Leyton Orient, Hearts and Aidrie all after coming out. His career was impeded more by injury and inner conflict due to the particular brand of...

Agreed. So many people are talking it up as a major issue, exaggerating the extent to which the football world is ridden with homophobia, that it's hardly a surprise that hardly anyone has come out as gay while remaining in professional footballer. Instead, we need to consider the...

While it's down to everyone what they disclose about themselves, a gay footballer not disclosing their sexuality is directly feeding into a world of fear about being gay and a professional footballer. They can't have many complaints about that being the environment in which they operate, when...

No, it doesn't. It also takes a lack of courage on the part of the player, something that the discussion has tended to overlook. If homosexual footballers want to be a part of a world where there are footballers that are openly gay, they need to be doing the very thing that makes this happen...