Young Footballer comes out

Originally posted: 9 March 2011

It’s been two and a half weeks to the day since the second annual Football v Homophobia Initiative, which also fell on what would have been soccer player Justin Fashanu’s 50th birthday. Fashanu came out as gay to the press in 1990, a move that effectively ended his career. Eight years later, Justin Fashanu hung himself in a garage in Shoreditch, London.

In the decade plus since, anti-homophobia advocates like The Justin Campaign have been working to end homophobia in the world’s beautiful game. While some recent gains have been made – notably, gaining the official support of both the FA and UEFA – the movement has suffered from the prolonged absence of successful, out gay footballers at the professional level. As loved as Fashanu is, his story has a miserable ending.

In February 2007, pro basketballer John Amaechi came out. In December 2009, Gareth Thomas, a professional rugby player, came out. And even more recently, straight professional wrestler Hudson Taylor founded Athlete Ally, “a sports resource encouraging all individuals involved in sports to respect every member of their communities, regardless of perceived or actual sexual-orientation or gender identity or expression, and to lead others in doing the same.”

But still, Fashanu was the only professional footballer to come out as gay – until now.

Swedish professional football player Anton Hysén has publicly come out to the soccer magazine Offside, which is due out on shelves on March 15. In the meantime, Sweden’s “largest Gaynyhetssajt” (with over 90,000 visitors per week), qx.se, picked up the story. (Translated below)

Translation:
Football player Anton Hysén comes out
Finally Sweden has their first openly gay male professional football player. Footballer Anton Hysén comes out as gay today. In the football magazine Offside he tells his story, where he amongst other things comments on the fact that he is the first male footballer in Sweden to come out:
“It’s so weird when you think about it. It’s so fucked up, the whole thing. Where the hell is everyone else? It’s barely any other footballers who are openly gay, right?”

Anton goes on:

“There are people who can’t deal with homosexuality. And there are racists who can’t deal with immigrants. A club might be interested in me, but then the coach finds out that I’m gay and they change their mind. But then it’s their problem, not mine”, he tells Offside.

“I understand that it’s going to be different after this interview. Now everyone will know: all coaches, everyone in the opposing teams, yes, even my teammates. I’m cool with that, I just think it’s going to be exciting. People can call me whatever they want, it’ll just spur me on.”


As posted on: http://www.kephsenett.com/2011/03/09/finally-a-fotbollsspelaren/