Gay Footballer Debate

Anton Hysen & The Gay Footballer Debate

Posted by The 12th Man - March 2011

 

"A while back, I wrote an article about football and homosexuality. Unbeknown to me, an obscure player I blogged about player would announce he was gay via Offside Magazine. His name is Anton Hysen. Before this, he was best known for being a part of what I called the Hysen Dynasty. Now, he is making headlines all his own.

It wasn't too long ago when football's first gay player came out to the world. Unlike Anton, top English footballer Justin Fashnu waited until he retired before admitting he was gay. Fashnu received harsh criticism from those within the football community; and when he came out, he endured even worse treatment by the general public. No player has dared to admit they were gay since fearing the same repercussions. While many argued, there are no gay players. Those close to Fashnu revealed upon his death that Fashnu knew of 12 other footballers who were gay or bisexual. Despite this, not one has come out or been outed.

Now, Anton Hysen is the trail blazer by becoming the first openly gay footballer to be active in the game. While times have changed since Fashnu, there are still skeptics and haters in football. It's not the managers and teammates that are the problem. It's the fans. In a recent British study, more than 70% of English football fans have heard homosexual slurs. The same study suggests that 63% of fans believe homosexual slurs are used because there are no openly gay players. Among those same people, 98% of them believe there are gay players in the league. Catch-22 anyone?

Now, there is a gay player but I doubt those slurs will stop. Anton Hysen might not receive as much harassment as he plays in Sweden's Division 2 Utsiktens BK. While he started his career with top tier Backen FC and represented Sweden at the under-17 level, many might think his sexuality has hindered his career. Although the 20 year-old dreams of someday playing in the Allsvenkan, he understands that might not happen due to his sexuality. According to Anton Hysen, "There are many people who can't handle homosexuals. And there are racists who can't handle immigrants. It may happen that a club shows interest and then the trainer finds out that I am gay. But that is their problem, not mine.”

Football's relationship with the gay community is complicated at best. Just because there is a gay player doesn't mean things will change over night. Even, Anton's own father and Liverpool ace had a scuffle with a gay man in a Frankfurt airport in 2001. Six years later, Glenn hosted a gay pride parade in his native Sweden. While football's poster boys David Beckham and Freddie Ljungberg revel in their gay icon status, others aren't as comfortable like Arek Onyszko and former Schalke boss Rudi Assauer. However, with the advent of the metrosexual player, more people are accepting gay fans and possibly gay teammates. As the old football dinosaurs die off and retire, football will make room for more politically correct managers, trainers, staff, and players. Until then, we must wait for others to follow in Anton Hysen's footsteps."