I don't know why but this bothers me. FIFA (Ferderation of International Football Associations) has always been a supporter of eliminating Prejudice agains people, Ranging from Racism to the latest actions agains Homosexual Prejudice. what disturbs me Is that still there have been no reports of known homosexual soccer players. at first I thought that "waw soccer is a heterosexual Sport to the CORE!!!" but then i thought, there is almost 400,000 profesional soccer players, there should be a few hundred. So far in the History of this organization there has only been one homosexual; and that was a ref, but still where did they go? Accourding to ads done by pro-players there are some that are homosexual but hide their true selves. All I want to ask is that why would people hide themselves from an organization, a community and a system that promotes and influences people to be themselves?
The "Say no to Racism" campaign by FIFA is barely working. You may already know, there are a lot of racist fans in soccer especially in the Spanish (Primera) League( no bias intended). An example would be the "Boos" against Samuel Eto, and Thierry Henry when they were in Barcelona. The crowd went as far as throwing bananas on the pitch every time Eto would take possession of the ball.
ReplyDeleteSo think of it this way. If the fans barely accept dark skinned players (in some leagues of course) what makes you think they would accept homosexuals?
I think the homosexuals are not giving out their identities, in fear of being treated the same way Eto, Henry and countless others were treated for the colors of their skin.
These are shameful acts that Ruin "The Beautiful Game"
here is a link to the ETO incident
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go_z3GTmUQI
I agree with Tonni, how there are around 400 000 professional soccer players. And the fact that there isn't even one known homosexual player amazes me. I believe there are couple of homosexual soccer players, however they are afraid to speak the truth. I agree with Safar, if the society isn't ready for dark skin, then maybe they are not ready for homosexuals. I don't blame the homosexuals at all, because the society is still immature and they are not ready to face reality. Maybe when the fans start to behave themselves, some players might open up to the world about their true identity.=)
ReplyDeleteLet’s look at it from a player’s perspective for a moment. If a player was to be homosexual, how would it affect them on and off the field? Sure the system and organization influences players to show their true colours, but there will always be that nagging fear of being treated differently. Think about how a player’s dynamic would change on and off the field with their teammates, coaches, trainers, etc. Sure in theory it should not change at all, but in practice, there will be changes, even if subtle. Everyone will view the player with a different lens now, and the player might not necessarily want that. They might just be content with their lifestyle now, and might be afraid of the changes that they might experience. I believe the constant fear of these changes to their lifestyle on and off the field is the root cause for more players not revealing their true sexual orientation.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to play devils advocate here and say maybe some of these soccer players don't want to come out, like safar and adilah said, and why should we as fans and players of "the beautiful game", try to encourage them to come out, if they feel their lives may be in danger. Also, I don't if you saw what happened in Italy, when Serbia faced Italy. The Serbian fans "went berserk" shouting anti-Italian slogans as well as causing damage inside and outside of the arena. Soccer is a game which brings people together, but until people give up their nationalistic pride and self hatred towards one other, I think we may see many more examples of racism and bigotry in soccer.
ReplyDeleteTonni, the reason for soccer players to hide themselves from the organization, ete.. is because of publicity. Imagine, you were a famous soccer player, and you were homosexual, would you tell everyone that you are gay. How would the fans (ladies) feel about that? It all comes down to publicity. a ref. they doesn't have fans, and it does not affect them on the field. Also, say no racism campaign is working, but it's not reaching their potential. I agree with you facts, and your post.
ReplyDeleteBeing homosexual in general is a touchy topic in which many athletes do not like to touch upon. Athletes are known for being strong and manly in many diffrent ways, homosexual soccer players has not been heard of because the discrimnation has not yet been abolished in that community. Homosexuality is not something you can say openly being a pro soccer player, your teammates and your coaches will all segergate you and most of your team players would feel uncomfortable around you in certain places such as the changing rooms. Having an open mind to this topic is not an opition I believe, because it just causes to much conflict, many athletes are airheads and don't believe in equality, its a jock thing. Openly gay people are looked down upon and would not be acknowledged throughout there career. The reason why the soccer association lets the media know that they are open to any diverse players is to make the media not attack them if there were being discriminative.
ReplyDeleteI know it's not the same thing but Dennis Rodman for example wasn't gay but he cross-dressed and he was bi-sexual but at least every time I watched his game he gave what the fans wanted. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter if your homosexual or heterosexual we just want to be entertained and watch a good game. Honestly there’s a good and bad side for everything. For people to hide it, I think it is generally a good thing because we don't really need to know if a player is heterosexual or homosexual. For homosexuals to keep a secret and be stressed and depressed is bad. Either way if athletes reveal the truth about there homosexuality than they are still going to go through psychological pain. I think athletes would hide that they were homosexual because they probably fear that society won't except them. Also it would cause a decline in fans, attract a lot of attention, have more haters, and you wouldn't be viewed as the same person. People will think differently of you and there’s a lot more that comes with revealing your homosexuality especially if your an athlete.
ReplyDeletegoing back to the idea of selfimage, that is not too influention in soccer. in the late 90's Guti Hans the midfeilder for realmadrid was labbled as gay yet people still liked him and cheered for him when he played, as far as i know he was never abused by the fans. sadly in the end, in 2005, he made surprise turn when he had his wedding ceremony nd clarified his immage.
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