All the papers seem to love this subject, perhaps because of its supposed incongruity.
And they can also indulge in a bit of schoolboy tee hee-hee nudge nudge winkery.
Much of the coverage this time retells the sorry tale of Justin Fashanu, the only British professional player to have come out - the programme is presented by his niece, Amal Fashanu.
The Sun alone has managed to spin three stories out of it already.
'Joey Barton: Gay soccer stars fear the manager'
And in The Scottish Sun today there's; 'Tackling football’s last taboo'
It's just a shame The Sun can't "man up" and apologise for their own homophobia, or the part they played in Justin Fashanu's downfall.
Posts
Barton is a weapon. It's people like him that are the reason footballers are afraid to come out.
ReplyDeletePlease tell me more...
ReplyDeleteBarton has a long history of being a violent prick, beating up teammates, mindless aggression, stubbing a cigar out in a youth team players eye at one christmas party... and just being a general length.
ReplyDeleteA couple of years ago he appeared to undergo some bizarre transformation, became very popular on Twitter, quite outspoken, and started quoting the Smiths a lot and reading philosophy. But remained an arsehole.
Now he's spouting all that 'don't judge me on my past' shite which people come out with a lot - what else are people supposed to judge you on, for heaven's sake! And to show just how much he's changed, he had a good old rant the other day about 'English' footballers playing for Ireland because of their Irish grandparents, saying they were 'pretending to give a shit about their heritage because they're not good enough for England.' Which is obviously not on the same level, but just shows the sort of material he's putting out.
He has no proven record of homophobia, unless getting his arse out in one game had such a motive, but he does have a record of being a violent, abusive cunt, including towards his own teammates. Which would make me think twice, at least.
Also, I'll be fucking furious if John Fashanu appears just to say "Mistakes were made." Not even a 'soz' for helping drive your own brother to suicide and setting back the cause.
ReplyDeleteWill you forgive him if he pretends to cry?
ReplyDeleteI'd rather he pretended to saw his own head off. A sympathetic (by which I mean 'look at this normal man saying some words') interview entitled "My gay brother is an outcast" on the frontpage of the country's most popular newspaper, as John Fashanu gave, is surely one of the worst things to have ever happened to the gay rights movement in this country in recent times.
ReplyDeleteAside: whilst obviously Ronaldo is my number one choice, a part of me wishes that the first footballer to come out, if it isn't him, is a violent lunatic. But it's bound to be someone phenomenally dull.
ReplyDeleteJust so long as they're cute.
ReplyDeleteI can't put my finger on it, but this Barton chap reminds me of someone...hmmmmmmmm...
ReplyDelete