THOMAS HITZLSPERGER likes men. I like women – and football and the occasional
beer in the pub and a ride on my new bike.
Sounds quite dull when it’s put that way.
And that’s precisely how it should be. Why on earth has a large proportion of
the football news agenda been given up this week to Hitzlsperger ‘outing’
himself?
I don’t care who or what Thomas Hitzlsperger likes, be it men, women, the
occasional beer in a pub or a ride on his new bike.
It has not been the hot topic of discussion among my friends and contacts in
the business. There has not been one sniggering remark made about
Hitzlsperger’s sexual preferences.
Everyone read the story, rolled over and went back to sleep, or went out for a
ride on their new bikes or maybe a beer in the pub.
But somewhere in the football industry, and I’m not quite sure exactly where
yet, is an agenda driving machine.
And it requires every admission of sexuality or every negative chant from the
stands and requisite response from the victim must be debated, discussed and
dissected to put our national game in the confession box again.
Hitzlsperger’s statement that he fancies people of his own gender had its
desired effect of course and made football reproach itself again and tut tut
about what more could we do to make gay men more comfortable while serving
as professional footballers.
It reached preposterous lengths yesterday (FRI) when one TV reporter holding
what looked liked a rainbow coloured microphone grilled West Ham manager Sam
Allardyce on the issue – given that Hitzlsperger once played for West Ham.
‘Der Hammer’ played 11 games in two years for The Hammers because he was
injured for much of it.
He did not play a single game for Allardyce and has even admitted himself to
Gary Lineker that it’s ‘difficult’ to assess whether there is an anti-gay
atmosphere in football.
‘Big Sam’ did his best. But ‘Big Sam’ is 59, and belongs to a different
generation and does not have a reputation of being the most-open minded chap
around.
But what he did do was sum up what this subject means to most, and dare I say
it, straight men. He gave a perfunctory response offering positives and
tried not to look bored. But he was then asked ‘When do you think we’ll see
a serving professional come out as gay?’
I don’t know Allardyce that well but I’m pretty confident he is not tapped
into football’s gay underworld where players are just waiting for the chance
to tell the world they are homosexual.
But Allardyce blinked, tried to cogitate an answer to an impossible question
and gave a diplomatic response that funnily enough ‘I don’t know.’
It’s the same scenario when players and managers put up with vile abuse from
opposition fans for 89 minutes and then when they get their revenge with a
winning goal and dare to give some back – the world cries that managers and
players are ‘reminded of their responsibilities’ .
In other words they should put up and shut up. Theo Walcott gets top marks for
making his ‘2-0’ gesture at Tottenham fans while he was being carted off on
a stretcher as Arsenal breezed through last week’s FA Cup win.
Fans: You dish it out, you get it back.
Thomas Hitzlsperger is gay – so what?
I like women and I’m now going out for a ride on my bike.