Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Gordon Tyler says the players union would support an openly gay player, but they would have trouble protecting him from fans.
While we have made massive improvement in crowd behaviour, it would still be a very, very brave move for a player to come out. If anybody comes out it is more acceptable in fashion or entertainment, but not in football because it’s a macho world. It upsets me when Max Clifford says, ‘They [gay footballers] have come to me, and I’ve told them not to go public, the time’s not right’.
Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Gordon Tyler says the players union would support an openly gay player, but they would have trouble protecting him from fans.
While we have made massive improvement in crowd behaviour, it would still be a very, very brave move for a player to come out. If anybody comes out it is more acceptable in fashion or entertainment, but not in football because it’s a macho world. It upsets me when Max Clifford says, ‘They [gay footballers] have come to me, and I’ve told them not to go public, the time’s not right’.
Tyler is referring to publicist Max Clifford who has said he told several gay British soccer players to stay in the closet.
It's a step in the right direction for the PFA to openly support the idea of a gay player, but I'm bothered by their insistence that the public wouldn't stand for it. The more sports power brokers say there's a problem, the more problem there is.
Still, Taylor seems like a cool dude; He stood up for Justin Fashanu back in the day.
