Norwich City players warm up wearing t-shirts of support for Jake Daniels after the footballer revealed he was gay. One, who plays 5s and has a season ticket for an SPFL team, did say there will likely be fewer gay men in the SPFL due to the perception that the game is “not for ”.īut he highlighted the main pressure as being the desire not the be “The First” gay footballer in Scotland. In the poll, the vast majority concurred wi me and Davey Bowman, that it would be the abuse fae away fans that would dissuade players from declaring themselves publicly as anything other than straight.īut gay men really didn’t agree with that. Meanwhile back on Twitter, I had piles of thoughts and opinions pouring in. “They’d just get on with it.” imagine the pressure of being the first openly gay footballer in Scotland “I don’t think players would bat an eyelid if a player came out as gay,” he said. Sean Dillon and Alistair Heather at Tannadice Homophobic language was embedded in the vernacular of the game during the 80s and into the 90s, Dave went on, but “the culture has changed”. “I’d like to think every club would support that player too,” he added.īut he suggested: “Young boys maybe think that football’s not the environment for them, if they do feel gay.” That’s the nearest either of them had ever got to playing with an openly gay footballer in Scotland, across their combined decades in the game.ĭave Bowman was convinced any player who did come out – whether to him, or to the changing room – would be supported. Sean was at Aston Villa when Thomas Hitzlsperger was there, but the latter only came out when he retired. Lesser footballing nations, Australia and England have seen male players come out recently, and doubtless a Scottish-based player will follow 1/2 #journorequest /S9eOSBeEr3 Why do *you* think there's nae publicly 'out' Scottish fitba players? Gay men of Scotland who follow me – a question: Both are ex- Dundee United players, who continue to have active roles at Montrose FC and United respectively. I spoke to two Scottish Cup winners, an MP, the head of an LGBT charity, a couple of my gay male pals and also engaged in loads of lively chats in my DMs.Īnd I learned loads, much of it surprising.īut first I had a scouting chat with Sean Dillon, then Dave Bowman. So why is there no publicly ‘out’ gay footballer in Scotland? So I stuck out a Twitter poll to gauge opinion and called for thoughts. Is it the abuse that would come fae away fans that’s trapping gay players in the closet here?Īre young gay men excluded fae the game in the first place? The other week doon sooth a 17-year-old Blackpool player Jake Daniels publicly disclosed his sexuality. In Australia last year, a fitba player called Josh Cavallo came out. I couldnae care less, and I suspect yous arnae that bothered either. Truth be telt, the sexuality of the folk playing on the pitch in front of me isnae my concern. Half these guys are Scottish, half come fae elsewhere in the world. There’s 42 clubs, with a combined 345 men on their books. How come there’s nae openly gay male fitba players in the SPFL? Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Information An icon of an information logo. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo.
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