Former Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger has revealed he is gay.
The 31-year-old, who won 52 caps for Germany and also played for West Ham and Everton, made the announcement in newspaper Die Zeit. He is the most prominent footballer to publicly reveal his homosexuality and said it was "a good time" to do so. "I'm coming out about my homosexuality because I want to move the discussion about homosexuality among professional sportspeople forwards," he added.
The midfielder, who retired from the sport in September after a series of injury problems, said he has only realised "in the past few years" that he would "prefer to live together with another man", adding: "I've never been ashamed of the way I am."However, he said the issue is taboo inside the dressing room and it had not always been easy to live with some of the comments dished out on the subject."Just picture 20 men sat around a table together drinking - you've just got to let the majority be, just as long as the jokes are halfway funny and the talk about homosexuality doesn't get too insulting," he said.
High-profile athletes from other sports have openly discussed their sexuality in recent years, with Olympic diver Tom Daley revealing in December he was in a relationship with a man.In February 2013, former United States and Leeds United winger Robbie Rogers said he was gay while Swedish footballer Anton Hysen, son of former Liverpool player Glenn Hysen, announced his homosexuality in an interview with a Swedish football magazine in 2011.
Thomas Hitzlsperger joined Villa as a teenager in 2000 from Bayern Munich and went on to play for Stuttgart, Lazio, West Ham and Wolfsburg, with a short stint at Everton before the end of his career.The Gay Football Supporters' Network said: "It shows that we are moving one step closer to creating that atmosphere in football where players at all levels would be able to come out should they want to, safely and free from discrimination.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário