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John Amaechi on Danny Baker's 5 Live show.



Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Jul 11, 2003
73,371
West west west Sussex
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b071735l

A very interesting interview.

From 01:22 JA spends a couple of minutes on the lack of gay footballers. (Amaechi being the first openly gay professional basketball player).

His take on the subject is to lay the blame solely at the feet of some in the media and those in charge of running the sport.

Stating they are lazily blaming the 'blue collar fans' for homophobia, racism and sexist as it makes it easier for them to carry on with their homophobic, racism and sexist practices.

We "just want our footballers to play hard and stop prancing about and falling over".
 


severnside gull

Well-known member
May 16, 2007
24,540
By the seaside in West Somerset
Whilst agreeing that anyone should be free to declare their sexuality whatever their position in society it manifestly isn't the case and to highlight football and to so narrowly apportion blame is frankly bollocks
 


lawros left foot

Glory hunting since 1969
Jun 11, 2011
13,673
Worthing
I heard the interview last Saturday, and was very impressed with him. Said his Wiki entry was one page of his sporting achievements, and three pages of his sexuality, and whenvhe first moved to the States, his black schoolmates had to give him The Talk, ie what to do when pulled over by white policemen ( hands out of the car window, so they couldn't shoot you, and say you had a gun) and the fact that even in this day and age, the school dining hall was still self segragated
 


Gwylan

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
31,324
Uffern
Whilst agreeing that anyone should be free to declare their sexuality whatever their position in society it manifestly isn't the case and to highlight football and to so narrowly apportion blame is frankly bollocks

Don't agree with that at all. In what other walk of life can people not declare their sexuality? We have gay politicians, priests, actors, singers, rugby players, cricketers, tennis players, military personnel, police officers, civil servants and just about everything else. Yes, there have been people who have stayed in the closet but that's generally for personal reasons, nothing to do with the surrounding culture.

I can't think of another profession where no-one, not a single person, has been able to come out. Wherever the blame lies, this is a problem that football has that no other occupation seems to have.
 


McTavish

Well-known member
Nov 5, 2014
1,562
I can't think of another profession where no-one, not a single person, has been able to come out. Wherever the blame lies, this is a problem that football has that no other occupation seems to have.
Pope?
 




Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Jul 11, 2003
73,371
West west west Sussex
Whilst agreeing that anyone should be free to declare their sexuality whatever their position in society it manifestly isn't the case and to highlight football and to so narrowly apportion blame is frankly bollocks
I thought it was an interesting interview and a thought provoking stance on that issue.

Admittedly I struggle with the principle that within hundreds of thousands of the paying public, all are enlightened enough to turn the other cheek, and it's the handful of 'suits' that are maintaining the oppression.
But that said, the basic idea that first and foremost all we want is a bloody good footballer who's trying hard, does ring true.


For the rest of the interview, you could tell he was starting to tie himself up in knots, regarding racism in America, and was backing himself into a corner.
Which he handled very deftly by pointing out just how many times he'd been stopped and searched in the UK.
 


severnside gull

Well-known member
May 16, 2007
24,540
By the seaside in West Somerset
Don't agree with that at all. In what other walk of life can people not declare their sexuality? We have gay politicians, priests, actors, singers, rugby players, cricketers, tennis players, military personnel, police officers, civil servants and just about everything else. Yes, there have been people who have stayed in the closet but that's generally for personal reasons, nothing to do with the surrounding culture.

I can't think of another profession where no-one, not a single person, has been able to come out. Wherever the blame lies, this is a problem that football has that no other occupation seems to have.

Not disrespecting the guy or the journey he's travelled but factually I'd suggest that there are myriad work environments where people don't or daren't come out. I don't disagree that football needs dragging kicking and screaming into the modern age.
My comment relates to narrowly apportioning responsibility to "the suits". I'd suggest the issues lie much more in the dressing room as with other sports and with fans' reaction fuelled by an intrusive and sensationalist press..
 
Last edited:


Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Jul 11, 2003
73,371
West west west Sussex
Not disrespecting the guy or the journey he's travelled but factually I'd suggest that there are myriad work environments where people don't or daren't come out. I don't disagree that football needs dragging kicking and screaming into the modern age.
My comment relates to narrowly apportioning responsibility to "the suits". I'd suggest the issues lie much more in the dressing room as with other sports and with fans' reaction fuelled by an intrusive and sensationalist press..
That goes completely against what JA says earlier in the interview.
 






darkwolf666

Well-known member
Nov 8, 2015
7,575
Sittingbourne, Kent
Am I the only person who doesn't.care a flying fig about a person's sexual proclivity just so long as they can do what they are employed to do and it doesn't frighten the horses
 








Jul 5, 2003
6,776
Bristol
Don't agree with that at all. In what other walk of life can people not declare their sexuality? We have gay politicians, priests, actors, singers, rugby players, cricketers, tennis players, military personnel, police officers, civil servants and just about everything else.

Totally disagree with this.
Football might be one of the worst offenders, but in almost every industry there still seems to be stigma against homosexuality.
 



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