Gay bundesliga

Latest videos Latest audio. The Bundesliga has never had an out gay active male footballer. Nothing happened. There will be new role models for them. He almost turned professional in the early s, but decided against the career move, deciding that the pressure of being a professional football player while having to hide his homosexuality would be too much for him.

In , Urban became Germany's first former football player to come out as gay. The first was Justin Fashanu in The reaction he received was a mix of rejection and hatred. He did so in , after he had hung up his boots. Beyond Germany, hardly any active footballers have come out.

So it turns out no Bundesliga players were planning to come out as gay on 17 May. Who could have seen that coming? However, there has been growing skepticism about how many — if any — professional footballers will actually take part in the joint coming out.

In focus. Marcus Urban is the co-founder of the organization. The footballers said they would offer support to anyone struggling with a decision to come out in public and defend them in the face of hostility. Several semi-professional and high-level amateur players in other countries have also come out.

He took his own life in after a year-old had accused him of rape. In addition, many players are convinced "that they would fall out of favor in the industry if they came out," Urban explained. Nobody dares to come out in the open," he added, saying the players in questions were "extremely cautious.

Born in in the former East Germany GDR , Urban was one of the most talented young footballers in the communist state. Former national team player Thomas Hitzlsperger is the best-known footballer to have come out in Germany. According to Urban this makes many homosexual players more fearful of negative reactions on the pitch or in the dressing room than from the stands.

Pauli — have declared their support for the Sports Free initiative. Marcus Urban had touted May 17 as a day when gay footballers could come out, saying he knew many were chatting. Latest audio Latest videos. It is difficult to predict. Homophobia is still widespread in men's football.

They fear that Urban's initiative will not have a lasting effect. As a midfielder for Rot-Weiss Erfurt he played in the highest youth leagues and represented the GDR at various youth levels. Namen noch ein Geheimnis: Welche schwulen Fußballer outen sich am Mai? Ob sich bei der Aktion auch ein aktiver Bundesliga-Spieler outen wird?.

Leading up to Friday's supposedly monumental day, I had been beset by questions. While it will draw attention to the problem for a brief time, they believe it will do little or nothing to reduce homophobia in a significant way. No active professional player in Germany has ever come out as gay.

Sports Free is an initiative that advocates for greater visibility and acceptance of queer athletes in professional sports. This is known to have led some to lead double lives, sometimes being seen with "fake" girlfriends in public — while secretly meeting with other men.

What is Sports Free? The initiative was started by Diversero, a global community that advocates for diversity and against bullying. Diversero has also declared the intention to establish the 17th of every month from June on as "Sports Free Day" to raise awareness of the challenges faced by queer athletes.

Anti-gay chants can often be heard in the stands and players make derogatory comments on the pitch. Even Urban has recently been playing down expectations.