German footballers plan joint coming-out!!!
A collective coming-out in professional football is being prepared in Germany. An as yet unknown number of professional football players will come out of the closet on May 17, according to German media.
The initiative is organized by ex-footballer Marcus Urban and has been regularly discussed in German media since December. Urban was one of the first professional football players to come out after his playing career. Urban has also received donations for the project from various German professional clubs.
The date of May 17 was not chosen randomly. That day is the International Day Against Homophobia. Nothing is yet known about the number of football players who want to come out. Urban previously hinted that players from other countries will also participate in the initiative. He says he has consulted with several gay football players in a private group chat and speaks of an “interesting dynamic”. According to him, there are even gay couples in the German Bundesliga. German media report that a documentary about the day is also being prepared.
Currently, only a small number of professional football players openly admit to being homosexual. Among them is Australian Josh Cavallo, who recently proposed to his boyfriend. The Czech Jakub Jankto came out of the closet last year. Jake Daniels, who plays for the British Blackpool FC, came out about his homosexual orientation in 2022.
The planned mass coming out is striking, as homosexuality and professional football still prove to be a difficult combination. For example, footballers refuse to stand up against LGBT+ discrimination for “religious reasons”. Incidents occurred in the competitions of various countries. For example, three players were removed from the selection in Toulouse for refusing to use a rainbow symbol. Among these refusers was the Dutch player Zakaria Aboukhlal. In the Dutch competition, refusers are treated more leniently. Orkun Kökcü of Feyenoord and Redouan El Yaakoubi of Excelsior refused to wear the “One Love” bracelet, but were allowed to continue playing.
Are we expecting this to really happen? Not really, mostly it is just a hype they do for clicks and create a clickbait wildfire out of it. But we can only hope and it would be a great for the sports world to show it is not a shame for being queer and to play sports. What do you think???
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