Thomas Hitzlsperger,31, has become the first Premier League footballer to come out as gay. The German international midfielder, who ended his playing career in September due to persistent injuries, said he came out in a bid to break the taboo of homosexuality in sport.
Thomas Hitzlsperger told Germany’s Die Zeit newspaper that now is ‘a good time’ for him to reveal his sexuality…
According to BBC Sports;
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 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.
But examples in football are few and far between. 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.
And in 1990, former England Under-21 international Justin Fashanu was the first professional footballer in Britain to reveal he was gay. He took his own life eight years later, aged 37.
Hitzlsperger retired from the sport in September 2013 at the age of 31 after a series of injury problems.
He 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.
It was during his five-year spell at Aston Villa that the Munich-born midfielder made his name and while at Villa Park he earned the nickname ‘Der Hammer’ because of his powerful left-foot shot.
Hitzlsperger also enjoyed a successful international career, making his first senior international bow in 2004.
He represented Germany at the 2006 World Cup – though he only played 11 minutes of that competition – and the 2008 European Championship, where he started in the quarter-final, semi-final and final.
Campaign group Stonewall welcomed the announcement. Director of campaigns Sam Dick told BBC Sport: “It’s fantastic that he has been brave enough to openly discuss his sexual orientation.
“Every sports star who is willing to speak out makes it just that little bit easier for gay players and fans, and we hope, a new generation of footballers will feel confident enough to be themselves.”
The Gay Footballer’s 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. We hope that one day current players would feel able to come out and that eventually a player’s sexual orientation not be a news story, but for now we wish Thomas Hitzlesperger well.”
For some days now, several media outlets in Ghana have reported that the onetime hit musician-Nana Boro has been involved in a fatal accident in USA, where he has been staying for the past 6 months…
Some of the reports went as far to say, Nana Boro is dead and social media users sent in numerous get well wishes and RIP comments, following these stories.
After placing calls to several industry people who are well connected with Nana Boro and having spoken to a cousin (he claims to be), it has become obvious, that the Nana Boro fatal accident/dead story is as a result of publicity stunt gone wrong.
Probably, out of disgrace and the lies sent to his fans (that is even if he still has some out there), Nana Boro has gone into hibernation—refusing to speak since the story broke out.
Whatever it is, a man must be really bored in life to desire such a disaster—even if it is for fame.
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.
But examples in football are few and far between. 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.
And in 1990, former England Under-21 international Justin Fashanu was the first professional footballer in Britain to reveal he was gay. He took his own life eight years later, aged 37.
Hitzlsperger retired from the sport in September 2013 at the age of 31 after a series of injury problems.
He 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.
It was during his five-year spell at Aston Villa that the Munich-born midfielder made his name and while at Villa Park he earned the nickname ‘Der Hammer’ because of his powerful left-foot shot.
Hitzlsperger also enjoyed a successful international career, making his first senior international bow in 2004.
He represented Germany at the 2006 World Cup – though he only played 11 minutes of that competition – and the 2008 European Championship, where he started in the quarter-final, semi-final and final.
Campaign group Stonewall welcomed the announcement. Director of campaigns Sam Dick told BBC Sport: “It’s fantastic that he has been brave enough to openly discuss his sexual orientation.
“Every sports star who is willing to speak out makes it just that little bit easier for gay players and fans, and we hope, a new generation of footballers will feel confident enough to be themselves.”
The Gay Footballer’s 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. We hope that one day current players would feel able to come out and that eventually a player’s sexual orientation not be a news story, but for now we wish Thomas Hitzlesperger well.”