Thomas Hitzlsperger announces he is gay

[Red Gunner]

Thomas Hitzlsperger announces he is gay in newspaper interview

Thomas Hitzlsperger has become the most high-profile footballer to come out, announcing on Wednesday that he is gay. The former Aston Villa, West Ham and Everton player has given a long interview to the German paper Die Zeit, in which he says that he is talking about his sexuality because he wants "to further the debate about homosexuality among sports professionals".

Hitzlsperger represented Germany 52 times, played in a World Cup and a European Championship and won the Bundesliga with Stuttgart. He retired in September last year, having also played for Lazio in Italy and Wolfsburg. "It's been a long and difficult process" [of becoming aware of being gay]. Only in the last few years have I realised that I preferred living together with a man," Hitzlsperger added.

"In England, Italy and Germany being a homosexual is no big thing, at least not in the dressing room," he said, before adding: "I was never ashamed of being who I am but it was not always easy to sit on a table with 20 young men and listen to jokes about gays. You let them get on with it as long as the jokes are somewhat funny and not too insulting.

"Being gay is topic that is 'ignored' in football and not 'a serious topic in the changing room'. Fighting spirit, passion and winning mentality are intrinsically linked, that doesn't fit the cliché: 'Gays are soft'".

http://www.theguardian.com/football/201 ... homosexual

[SPUDMASHER]

was always an excellent defender and one I would have signed a few years ago.

Shame he didn't have the courage to come out whilst still playing. Whilst I joke about things as much as anyone, I do think it is a sad state of affairs when a person cannot be true to themselves because of the environment in which they work. Football has done a lot over the years to stamp out racism both on and off the field. Isn't it time that it now does the same with homosexuals?

[Red Gunner]

Football has done a lot over the years to stamp out racism both on and off the field. Isn't it time that it now does the same with homosexuals?

You want football to stamp out gays?

[Leyton Gooner]

It is a shame that players still feel that they would suffer abuse both inside the dressing room and on the pitch for being gay. Just to bring up an example from another sport, the Surrey cricketer Steve Davies came out a few years ago but no one has batted an eyelid since, as far as I can recall anyway, even the ultra conservative Surrey members
Even the Australians must have resisted the urge to sledge him when he played against them in a few one day games

[QuartzGooner]

cricketer Steve Davies came out a few years ago but no one has batted an eyelid since

Batted a few overs though?
(Sorry, crap joke.)

Even the Australians must have resisted the urge to sledge him when he played against them in a few one day games

They would be the biggest hypocrites if they did, anyone ever been to Sydney?

[goonertux]

Hitzlsperger didn't half have a shot on him for a soft lad

[Leyton Gooner]

cricketer Steve Davies came out a few years ago but no one has batted an eyelid since

Batted a few overs though?
(Sorry, crap joke.)

Even the Australians must have resisted the urge to sledge him when he played against them in a few one day games

They would be the biggest hypocrites if they did, anyone ever been to Sydney?

No but I have seen Mitchell Johnson's new village people look

[rodders999]

Superb article from Le Saux about the the culture and attitudes within the game, no wonder nobody comes out while still playing.

http://reflectionsasia.wordpress.com/20 ... my-career/

[I Hate Hleb]

was always an excellent defender and one I would have signed a few years ago....

Wasn't he a midfielder?

[Dan_85]

I'd genuinely don't have a problem, let people fancy whoever they want but the thing with this is I know we all have banter, pisstaking etc both at the ground and here - we call each other gay, members of the tennis clique etc but i'm pretty sure that these days, 95% of football fans don't really care about a player's sexuality. They're more interested in how he plays on the pitch surely?

Secondly, I don't particularly agree with all the hysteria from certain organisations and media outlets getting up in arms about there not being enough openly gay players. "Oh, there must be more gay players than this! Why aren't they coming out?! We must have a campaign!" etc etc etc. Firstly, ok its unlikely, there may not actually be any gay players in the top leagues at the moment. But then secondly, maybe the reason they're not coming out is not from fear of a backlash from the stands but because they don't wanna be wheeled out by every LGBT/equalities charity and held up as some kinda poster boy to give the standard quotes about how hard it is to be a gay sportsman in Britain.

I guess it's kinda a by-product on where we're at in society re homosexuality that sport stars or athletes coming out still warrants massive media attention & making it towards the top of the bbc news homepage and that's probably not gonna change for a while. When that changes & it really becomes a non issue then I reckon you'll see more players admitting it but thats a long way off, decades in my opinion.

If I was a PL player who was gay but keeping it quiet, I wouldn't wanna be admitting it right now. As I say, not because of my fear of a fan reaction but because I wouldn't want the guardian and all these other *word censored* knocking on my door or phoning me for quotes on what a hard time i'd had being gay. I'd want people to talk to me about my football, not to be defined by a quote in a newspaper about my sexuality.

"Being gay is a non issue" is a myth at the moment. Sadly it actually is an issue all the while that these charities and groups are wheeling out poster campaigns in every stadium & online media strategies almost in an attempt to hound people out of the closet, thereby voiding there original argument that it doesn't really matter. It's an issue all the while bbc news & the like put articles about celebrities coming out right near the top of their homepage. If it doesn't matter shut up and let people get on with it quietly in their own time.

[LDB]

Well said Dan.

Massive who gives a fuck? Answer: only limp wristed guardian/BBC types. As I type a bloke from the "Gay Football Supporters' Network" pops up on sky sports news. Get a proper job.

[Dan_85]

As I type a bloke from the "Gay Football Supporters' Network" pops up on sky sports news. Get a proper job.

Yes, these are the *word censored* who would put me off coming out of the closet. Not anybody on the terraces.

[BournemouthRED]

[Red Gunner]

https://twitter.com/WankersFullKit
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Full-Kit ... 8457440722

[TeeCee]

As I type a bloke from the "Gay Football Supporters' Network"

Or 'Tottenham Hotspur' to most people!!


Thomas Hitzlsperger - known as 'the Hammer'.................bet he's been nailed a few times??
Yes, he was a midfielder.