There’s no homogenous male player in support of LGBT rights but needs to be represented so the struggle may lessen over time. By emerging the number of women’s football who are openly gay players arising the discomfort in men’s groups. Only if any top-tier men football player declaring as gay, the repression in homophobia may turn off.
- According to the treasurer of a prominent LGBT+ supporters’ group who warned it could take another decennary to happen. Any first man making such a public statement would create the media flooded with immense coverage.
- However, George Rice, the treasurer of Gay Gooners an official Arsenal supporters club and the first LGBT+ fans’ group in Britain believes that the first player to come out would also stamp out homophobia within the sport.
- George Rice thinks after he made it as a highlighting scenario in social media to tackle down homophobia in football the world may not see anyone coming out any sooner.
- It should absolutely happen as soon as possible and in an ideal world there would be no backlash when it does,” he stated.
- ‘It is the dream of anyone who’s been involved in LGBT inclusion in football to see an openly gay player in the men’s game,’ he said to the media.
- ‘There are plenty in the women’s game but I think the men’s game would be able to tap into that audience and create a safer place for supporters who are not comfortable being an openly gay football fan. It would help stamp out the remaining prejudice’ he added.
- “In an ideal world you’d have multiple players coming out together because, statistically, there’s bound to be more than one. And if you had multiple players coming out together with team-mates behind them saying, ‘we know you and we don’t care, you’re just a team-mate’ that would hopefully garner more positive reaction”, said Rice.
- “As a new generation comes through there is much less of an issue and there’s much less of that kind of toxic masculinity within the dressing room, I think, but I do think we’ll probably be waiting another five or 10 years for a player to come out as gay.
- “Homophobia, quite similar to racism, we don’t hear as much in the stadiums but the vast majority really seems to have moved online now and that’s where the issue needs to be targeted a lot more.
- “If I’m honest, from my point of view, the main groups that are mainly responsible for failing to live up to their responsibilities are these social media companies.
Rice thinks of it as a sad truth that any player coming out would get a level of abuse that is unacceptable because this is something that should be considered.
