Football Culture and sexuality

“It’s a game of guess who, to be honest. It’s more than unhelpful, it's pretty actively damaging.”

Adam Crafton – a writer for The Athletic, who published an in-depth piece in February on the life of the late Justin Fashanu, a high-profile British footballer who came out as gay in 1990 – is discussing those silhouetted images that, so often, have featured on the front and back pages of newspapers in relation to LGBT sports people – especially male footballers.

“I mean, there were stories – I think it was around Christmas time – there were WhatsApp rumours going round about one Premier League player which were completely unfounded,” he continues.

“And it’s not only damaging, potentially, to a gay player but if it's a straight guy, who might be in a relationship with a woman, it might be hugely damaging, if it's an unfounded rumour, to his own personal life – it’s not fair. So, there’s all different aspects of why it’s damaging.”

The scale of the issues that a single element of media coverage – and tone – could cause, is striking.

Dr. Rory Magrath, of the University of Solent, has extensively researched homophobia and masculinity in sport and wider society – and he also highlights this particular challenge.

“I'm not going to say frequently, but still far too frequently I think – for most people’s liking – we see this sensationalist speculation in certain sections of tabloid media about gay footballers or a lack of gay footballers or, you know, ‘these two guys have come out but they’re too scared to announce it publicly because they’re worried about the reaction’ and that's extremely unhelpful because it creates so much pressure in an already kind of complex and difficult area.

“So much so that the Sports Media LGBT+ network recently signed an open letter – numerous people signed it, those working in sports media and outside the sports media, as well – objecting to this notion of LGBT representation in terms of speculation.”

Jon Holmes, the founder and lead of Sports Media LGBT+ – which was launched in November 2017 – and a Senior Editor and writer at Sky Sports News, also references the “narrative around secrecy and fear,” that such portrayals can create.

The power of the media to shape perceptions is evident here, of course. As such, organisations such as Sports Media LGBT+ are so valuable.

Holmes references numerous areas in which they offer support to both those within, and outside, the media. They are a source of advice to those writing stories who are so keen to use the best possible language and strike the best possible tone but may not otherwise have those answers to hand.

He highlights just a few of the areas where they will aim to raise awareness of potential pitfalls within coverage, which often come about unintentionally but can prove damaging.

“For example, you could say the erasure of bi identities,” he says.

“Quite often, when people are talking about being gay in professional sport, there's such an emphasis on when will the first gay footballer come out and all of these kinds of questions and actually that kind of negates the fact that a lot of people are bisexual and that's a different experience in some respects.

“In some respects, it’s similar too but, you know, just to focus on the one part of the LGBT acronym is actually quite unhelpful, in a way, to have that broader discussion.

“And there's issues, as well, with trans athletes and what’s known as ‘deadnaming’ and that's something that, still, a lot of people are learning about – why it's unnecessary to refer somebody's previous name and the implications that that has.”

The group also aim to help content producers deal with the varying reactions that can, at times, follow the publication of a story focusing on LGBT+ topics. Something which can prove helpful in encouraging those in the media to continue covering such issues.

Another key area of their work has been the creation and growth of their ‘Authentic Me’ mantra. It’s a concise phrase, but one that recognises the challenges that so many LGBT+ people can face within sport and wider society, and the mental health benefits that can come with finding that additional level of authenticity.

“In football, particularly, there is a lot of awareness being raised around mental health and I think for people who are gay or bi, for example, in professional sport, there has been a lot of compartmentalising of different parts of their identity to fit different environments and that's an unhealthy thing to do,” says Holmes.

“So, we really, really want to talk about authenticity as part of that and what does it mean to be your authentic self in sport?”

Ryan Atkin, a professional football referee who came out as gay in August 2017, is someone who has felt the benefits on this front.

“The only difference, I suppose, from coming out in August 2017, for me, has been the relationship I have with my colleagues where I can be my authentic self. I can be open and honest of who I am. You know, what I'm up to at the weekends, who I'm seeing as far as partners,” Atkin says.

“If we're talking about our family lives and what we're all doing at the weekends, you can share your experiences and you're not sat there, sort of, telling lies or having to say ‘oh yeah I’m going on a date with a girl’ or ‘I’m seeing my girlfriend’ when, in fact, you’re seeing your partner or your boyfriend or whatever you may call them.

“But, also, the relationship on the field of play and realising that that extra one percent can make a huge difference in your professional field and, you know, having the honesty and integrity with yourself massively impacts on your leadership skills on the field of play.”

These kinds of developments in identity that organisations such as Sports Media LGBT+, Stonewall UK and Athlete Ally are all recognising and supporting has already, evidently, proved so beneficial on an individual – and, likely, collective – level.

There is widespread recognition that the process of making football – and sport, more widely – a more welcoming environment for LGBT+ individuals is very much an ongoing process.

The modern atmosphere, as demonstrated by the likes of the silhouetted images, remains one that can get notably more welcoming. Change, though, feels like it is becoming that bit more tangible – especially when issues such as these are addressed.