Footballers - To come out or not to come out that is the question ....

A tiny little blog inspired by a BBC3 programme on gay footballers.

This is told by a straight woman who is into football in a big way I'm even a season ticket holder for Tamworth FC (yes we did play Everton in the FA Cup) but let's get back to the matter in hand.

This is my blog so these are my opinions, I know plenty will disagree with me but you know when you have something welling up in you that you have to spout forth, well this is one of those times.

To come out is a personal choice and shouldn't be forced on footballers for one, but maybe and I have no experience of being within a team so this is just a spectator's view, maybe if gay footballers who wanted to come out, did so en masse then of course it would make the papers, but maybe it wouldn't be so hard on them, coming out individually.

Many years ago footballers would have been chanted at for being of a different colour - in my experience that doesn't happen so much anymore (well in my club it doesn't) and we have a rainbow of colours that play for our club.  There is the odd comment you sometimes hear from other fans, but then isn't that their ignorance showing through?

I think what is needed here is for the FA and all the clubs in the leagues including non league clubs such as my own is to really openly talk on this matter, maybe this documentary might help, I really hope so because who cares whether you be a plumber, dentist, doctor or footballer whether you are gay or not.

Being a footballer in my experience involves a lot of banter between the lads but all of it harmless and can be because you like a different kind of music, banter is a great thing and I think in these enlightened times certainly in my club and I know full well we aren't in the Premiership, that if someone said they were gay I think the answer would be no big deal. 

We live in different times now, the footballers of today have been brought up with gay people at school, laughed at gay comedians jokes, maybe even know someone gay.

So really in essence what I'm saying is that if a footballer came out as gay, just as if an actor or anyone else I might know of came out of their own volition why would I care?  I enjoy football for football's sake not for who they sleep with.

My blog, my opinion, I truly hope in 2012 that we embrace each other as human beings not by the colour of our skin or our sexuality.

Jewels xxx