Gay footballers

A thoughtful piece on the BBC website by Justin Fashanu's niece. The full programme will be on BBC3 on Monday:

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Two things I found surprising:

1) unpleasantly, the notion that agents don't want players to 'come out' because it will make them less attractive as signings or bring down their fees. An extraordinary form of covert discrimination!
2) pleasantly, Joey Barton as a 'gay rights' supporter..

Whilst much progress has been made against racism in football, homophobia remains a prejudice that has never been properly confronted.

Ironically, perhaps, the piece is on the beeb's magazine page but there's no link to it on the football page..

Whilst it's seemingly unbelievable, in this day and age, that this is still a problem issue we shouldn't underestimate the deeply ingrained prejudices that lie deeply ingrained in some of us and reflected by John Fashanu's attitude back then.

My wife has worked on and off for the last few years for a lovely couple of chaps but we still have a wry smile when some of OUR perceived archetypal behaviour manifets itself.

I suggested on a pasoti thread a while ago on this subject that all it would take is for some "important" names to come out and for many others to join them in an "I am Spartacus" moment for it to take away lots of the inevitable crap that would be thrown. All that would be needed is for the statement to be, "I may be gay".