Thomas Hitzlsperger: Johnny Allman Writes

So Thomas Hitzlsperger has come out of the proverbial wardrobe.

Yes, he is a gay.

Big deal!

Or is it?!

It is 2013 2014!

So what if he likes doing it with blokes?

I for one am totally fine with his disgusting lifestyle choice.

I'd be fine playing football with a gay fella - and wouldn't even mind sharing a hot shower after the game with a handsome muscular young man like Mr Hitzlsperger.

Thom is very brave - braver than a Resistance fighter in Occupied France IMHO - hopefully he will inspire other gay footballers like Ashley Cole to come out [Subs: Can the lawyers check this?]

And well done to young Tom Daley - I always thought he looked a bit poofy, but the wife likes him.

The times they are a-changing room!

Maybe one day newspaper columnists won't have to write cliché-ridden old crap like this.

We must never forget Justin Fashanu - a top player who took his own life after being charged with raping a teenager years of anti-gay hatred.

Let's kick homeopathy out of football once and for all!

• Johnny Allman plays for Liverpool United. He writes in a personal capacity.

Thomas Hitzlsperger: Active Or Passive?

Thomas Hitzlsperger’s principal concern for any gay footballer sitting at home wondering if he should come out is not the potential abuse from fans or team-mates. It is the responsibility, the burden, of being a crusader. “What this week has taught me,” he says, “is that it’s intense.”

He knew that his homosexuality would be a story. He just did not expect this much of a story, and it has been as big in England as anywhere, a phenomenon that cannot simply be explained by the German’s three spells in the Premier League.

We seem fascinated by a gay footballer, an old obsession with sex lives mixed, perhaps, with an eagerness to extol our own tolerance.

The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, yet, according to Hitzlsperger, the level of interest also highlights the challenge for any player thinking of following him out of the closet.

“If you make a statement, you are never done with it,” he told The Times yesterday. “I didn’t know how big it would be, but everyone wants to talk about it. Hopefully, with what I am doing, it will eventually become normality. Hopefully, in a few years, it’s not a big issue, but the fact is it’s caused a bit of a sensation. When you look at the last few days, you can see we have some way to go before it is just a regular thing.”

The Times.

Fagburn feels he may now be close to the time when he can spell 'Hitzlsperger' without checking...

PS The Guardian perpetuates the myth Justin Fashanu committed suicide because of a history of homophobia - though this may have been a contributory factor, in his suicide note he said he killed himself because he had been charged with a sexual assault on a teenager.

Thomas Hitzlsperger: Homosexual, Someone's Private Sexual Proclivity, So Brave, Well Done The Sun! Etc

I think we can all probably agree that Thomas Hitzlsperger did a good thing in saying he was homosexual. It is something of a shame that the former Premier League footballer waited until he retired to go public with his sexuality, but in the area of sexual politics, we know that progress comes in small steps.

It is rather jarring to be reminded that we still live in a world where someone's private sexual proclivity is something we need to know about, but Hitzlsperger's act in becoming the first player in the Premier League era - and the first German professional player ever - to come out as gay is a significant one...

Unbelievably patronising twaddle, even for The Independent. 

PS The Telegraph have got someone called Jeremy to write about this football story. That's right JEREMY!

Mail Online -Uh-huh...

PS The Independent did a more interesting piece on the reaction in Germany.

Update: Owen Jones also thinks Thom is "brave". Well, there you go...

Thomas Hitzlsperger: At Last Peter Tatchell Speaks!

The obligatory press release from national joke Peter Tatchell.

Gay rights activist has special praise for the Sun newspaper's anti-homophobic leader column about the retired Aston Villa player who outed himself

That heroic Sun editorial in full.

Wow!

So brave! etc etc

Of course Saint Peter invented the gay football.

Thomas Hitzlsperger: Have Your Say!

The Sun.

Fagburn loves it when straight people tell gay men how to live their lives, so let's hear what they're thinking...

Whether he sleeps with men, women, or dogs, what business is it of yours, and why is it such big news. As long as hes not sleeping with you (that's if your not that way inclined), or murdering anyone in the process what's the worry?. Some ppl put their stuff in the strangest of places, and do the strangest of things, but hey that's their problem not mine's. Now let's have some proper news.

maybe other players don't " come out " because they don't want their private lives on the front page of the newspapers day after day, if everyone is ok with it then let's move on

I'm heterosexual, ( I haven't told anybody yet), and if I was in a shower full of naked woman, I can assure you I would be looking. If I'd shared a shower with Mr H previously, I would be feeling very uncomfortable now.

What's the difference ? Being gay is normal, is'nt it ?? Is'nt it ??

No.

Thomas Hitzlsperger: Former German Footballer Speaks Out

"You hear the word courage a lot. That's nice to hear, but it's part of the problem, of course. That's something that should change. I sincerely hope that we'll see the when nobody mentions courage in these circumstances anymore, because it will be seen as totally normal that a sports person will speak about his homosexuality, the way others talk about their wives and girlfriends. It won't be easy for the next person to be the truly the first in that regard but maybe I've been able to help them a tiny bit."

Guardian interview - they've also done a rather boring HUZZAH! editorial. 

Fagburn has to say this Thomas Hitzlsperger seems quite a decent chap.

Thomas Hitzlsperger: The Last Taboo Gay Cliché Watch!

Four months after retiring from professional football, Thomas Hitzlsperger has decided to make his sexual orientation public in order to tackle one of the few remaining taboos in the world’s most popular sport.

"I’m talking about my homosexuality because I want to advance the discussion about pro athletes being gay," he says in the latest edition of weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT.

Hitzlsperger said he felt it was time to come out now that his career was over.

Die Zeit.

Fagburn loves the phrase "comes out as gay" - as opposed to "comes out as a rhinocerous" presumably...