Love goes out to all sports enthusiasts and to all gay men! Times are changing. Paragraph 175 in the Penal Code criminalized gay and bisexual men for 123 years and legitimized criminal prosecution. It wasn’t until 1994 that §175 StGB was finally abolished.
2010: Gary Neville of Manchester United kissed his teammate Paul Scholes on the lips after Scholes scored the winning goal in injury time of the Manchester Derby. Whether joy or love, no one should have to hide their feelings… However, homosexuality remains a taboo in men’s football.
(Credit: picture alliance / dpa)
However, homosexuality remains a taboo in men’s football.
But that’s set to change by May 17, 2024. What the "Sports Free" campaign is all about and why same-sex love seems to be no issue in women’s football can be read here.
“Women in football are together with women. Why isn’t that the case with men?” asks 12-year-old football player Lotte from Berlin with an excited voice and catching her breath as she addresses 52-time national player Thomas Hitzlsperger.
Thomas Hitzlsperger devoted his youth to FC Bayern Munich and moved to Aston Villa in the English Premier League in 2000. In 2007, he won the Bundesliga with VfB Stuttgart. In 2008, he was a runner-up at the European Championship with the national team. After ending his active career, Hitzlsperger came out in January 2014, becoming the first German professional footballer to do so. His book, "Mutproben" was released in March 2024.
Why is being gay in men’s football still apparently a problem in 2024? It’s a question that seems so straightforward that only a child might have the courage to ask it publicly, yet it’s still difficult to answer. Thomas Hitzlsperger admits this. The 12-year-old Lotte and 41-year-old Hitzlsperger face each other on stage at an event at the Berlin Social Science Research Center (WZB) at the end of March. FC Viktoria Berlin investor Jutta Allmendinger, President of the WZB, has invited them.
The discussion series is called “Mutproben” (“Courage Tests”) the same title as Hitzlsperger’s book. Or is it “Mut proben? (“Testing Courage”) A clever play on words devised by the publisher. It’s been ten years since Thomas Hitzlsperger publicly came out as gay. This moment is considered a milestone in football. Yet, it seems that even today, the topic of homosexuality in men's football still requires a great deal of courage.
“The Locker Room Put Me Off”
Jutta Allmendinger wants to know from Thomas Hitzlsperger what he considers a test of courage. “Speaking in front of others,” replies the Bavarian native. In his youth, he was very concerned with his public image and often worried about what others thought of him or his family. That’s how he was shaped. But he didn’t want to live his life like that forever. “I’m different. I’m one of those people who was the subject of speculation in professional football.”
According to Hitzlsperger, men's sport in general is the problem, not just football. People associate men, especially athletes, with strength and performance, and being gay with weakness. That doesn't go together. Then there's the intimacy of the locker room. ‘You train together, you sweat, you shower together... you don't have that in the office.’ Some players clearly expressed that they would feel uncomfortable with a gay teammate. Religion also plays a role in this. Homophobic comments were made. ‘The locker room put me off,’ admits Hitzlsperger. He allowed himself to be talked out of coming out during his active career. At the same time, he knew: ‘If I don't have the courage to say it, things will get tough for me.’
"Finally, I can be myself"
But there are gay athletes, like NBA center Jason Collins or Michael Sam in the NFL, for example. Both came out in 2014, like Thomas Hitzlsperger, though only after their active careers. Still, it was a good year. And that was just the beginning...
"I’m gay" wrote Andy Brennan on Instagram in 2019. "I want to be completely open about it.”
In Australia, the then 26-year-old second-tier player was the first active professional to come out publicly. “I wanted to be the one to tell my story, not let others tell it for me. (...) Finally, I can be myself, and it feels overwhelming.”
(Credit: Getty Images)
Before Andy Brennan publicly came out, he sought advice from Collin Martin. At the time, Martin was under contract with Minnesota United in the US and had taken the step into the public eye during Pride Night in June 2018. With a tweet, he publicly acknowledged his sexuality and received a lot of support. When he was substituted in the first game after his coming out, the spectators stood up, applauded for a long time, and revealed a support banner that read “Pride Night Every Night.”
"I had no idea how much people needed my story," Collin Martin said in a commercial for a sporting goods manufacturer.
(Credit: Screenshot Twitter/@martcw12)
The first active footballer in the Australian A-League to come out was Josh Cavallo. “It’s okay to be gay and play football. I want to show that to others who are struggling and scared,” announced the then-midfielder of Adelaide United on social media in 2021. However, the case of Justin Fashanu from England had worried him before making his public step…
On October 22, 1990, the British tabloid Sun printed the headline "I'm gay" next to a photo of Justin Fashanu. The Premier League player was the first professional footballer in the world to come out as gay.
(Credit: imago)
Fashanu was playing for Nottingham Forest when he suffered a knee injury that kept him out for a long time, and he never regained his former level of performance. As a result, he played for lower-tier US clubs and money became tight. The Sun offered him £100,000 for his coming out. Eight years after the newspaper article on May 2, 1998, Justin Fashanu took his own life. He was 37 years old at the time.
In 2023, Czech national football player Jakub Jankto publicly came out as gay. He is currently the only active professional in a European top league who is openly gay.
(Credit: Laurence Griffiths/AFP)
For other gay football professionals, there are many ways to live a double life, including agencies that arrange women to stand in for public appearances or shared holiday photos.
Homophobia has been part of football folklore for decades.
In 2019, homophobia became a serious issue in the stands of French football stadiums. Numerous games in the top two leagues were suspended. During the match between OGC Nice and Olympique Marseille, the home fans sang "Les Marseillais c'est des pédés,” which rhymes in French and translates to "The Marseillais are faggots" in English. Homophobic banners were also unfurled in the stands. The game was interrupted for a full twelve minutes.
There was much debate at the time about how much homophobia football can endure or tolerate, as if it were part of the game, just like referee abuse. Was it all just fan folklore? The then-president of the French Football Federation, Noël Le Graët, considered sanctions like game suspensions excessive. "Football in France: Homophobic, or just plain stupid?" was the question on süddeutsche.de.
Today, it is the year 2024, the year in which three national players in Austria were recently removed from the squad following homophobic chants. Part of the Rapid Vienna team celebrated their derby win over Austria Vienna in March with insults and anti-gay remarks. This had consequences: future Werder Bremen player Marco Grüll, former Schalke player Guido Burgstaller, and Rapid goalkeeper Niklas Hedl were temporarily dropped from the Austrian national team by ÖFB head coach Ralf Rangnick.
How far have we come in Germany?
At least in the stands, things seem to be changing somewhat. There are gay and lesbian fan clubs, such as the Berlin Hertha-Junxx, the Stuttgart Junxx at VfB, the Queer Devils from 1. FC Kaiserslautern, or Queerpass Bayern at FCB. Does this mean the time is ripe for openly gay football professionals?
Thomas Hitzlsperger is somewhat optimistic. “I am protected by the law in Germany. I am not protected by society. But our society isn’t as bad as one might think,” he says on stage at the Berlin Social Science Center. There, he is also naturally asked about May 17.
There was the ‘Act out’ campaign in the theatre industry, ‘Out in Church’ in the Catholic Church and 17 May 2024 will go down in history under the title ‘Sports free’. 17 May is the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersex and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT for short). A group coming-out of queer athletes in professional sport is planned for this very day. It was initiated by Marcus Urban.
Marcus Urban is co-founder of DIVERSERO, an ex-professional footballer and gay. He played for the GDR national youth team and the second division club FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt. During puberty, Marcus fell in love with a man for the first time and didn't allow himself to feel that way: ‘I'm a footballer, I can't be gay...’ But he didn't want to hide and later ended his career as a footballer. His biography was published in 2008: ‘Versteckspieler: Die Geschichte des schwulen Fußballers Marcus Urban’. (“Hidden player; the story of gay footballer Marcus Urban”)
The ‘Sports free’ campaign and the announced group coming-out on 17 May.
Why is it that still no active German professional footballer in Germany has come out?
Why is it apparently not a problem for women in football?
... and much more.
Hitzlsperger: “I’m glad that women’s football doesn’t have this problem”
Returning to the initial question from 12-year-old Lotte: “Women in football are with women. Why isn’t that the case with men?” “It’s a difficult question,” admits Thomas Hitzlsperger. “I don’t know enough men who talk to me about why they don’t speak out. (...) I’m glad that women’s football doesn’t have this problem.” Women’s football has long been in a niche, and no one cared whether players were lesbian. “Women need to be role models!” adds Hitzlsperger.
It has been ten years since the former VfB Stuttgart midfielder and national player came out as gay. For this, he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit, among other honours. He hopes that the plan for May 17 will succeed, Hitzlsperger says. Maybe there will then be enough men who openly speak out and reach another milestone in football. For the sport and society.
What would happen if just one active Bundesliga player publicly acknowledged their homosexuality? Wouldn’t it also have a radiating effect beyond the sport? Would it ever be possible to overcome the patriarchy, and the gender and role stereotypes associated with it, which affect both women and men? It still sounds like a utopia. Let’s make it a reality and tackle it. Together!
More on the topic:
> The Amazon documentary “Das letzte Tabu” (“The Last Taboo") explores the topic of homosexuality in men’s football and shows progress and barriers.
> How can clubs or associations support players and staff who want to be open and natural about their sexual orientation? There is an informational brochure from the DFB on this.
Comments