Homophobia in men's football

Rory Magrath, Eric Anderson

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Published conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

Introduction In February 2013, a 25-year-old ex-Leeds United footballer, Robbie Rogers, who was playing in the United States, publicly revealed that he was gay. He simultaneously revealed that he was quitting football, saying that, ‘For the past 25 year[s] I have been afraid: afraid to show whom I really was because of fear’ (Rogers, 2013). Despite this fear, Rogers’s peers took to social networking websites to reveal their support for him. Compatriot, and current player, Stuart Holden posted on Twitter, ‘Much love and respect to my boy … Proud to be your friend bro’. Similarly, another compatriot and retired player, Kasey Keller, also posted on Twitter, ‘The bravery of Robbie Rogers is commendable. I hope he realises that he doesn’t need to retire. He will be more supported than he knows.’ Keller’s reference to Rogers’s quitting the game is particularly interesting, perhaps denoting that he feels football culture would be accepting and tolerant of Rogers’s homosexuality – despite Rogers’s fear. Similar support was shown for Anton Hysén, a Liverpool-born Swedish footballer who came out in 2011 (Cleland, 2014).
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationRoutledge Handbook of Football Studies
EditorsJohn Hughson, Kevin Moore, Joseph Maguire, Ramon Spaaij
Place of PublicationLondon
PublisherRoutledge
Chapter27
Number of pages11
ISBN (Electronic)9780203066430
ISBN (Print)9780415815109
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Sept 2016

Publication series

NameRoutledge International Handbooks

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Homophobia in men's football'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this