Gay footballers ‘should come out’ says star
BASKETBALL icon John Amaechi has claimed gay Premier League footballers would perform better if they came out – while accusing the sport’s UK governing body of not treating homophobia as seriously as racism.
The ex-NBA star accused the Football Association of lacking the ‘will’ to tackle the issue in the game.
Amaechi, raised in Heaton Moor, rejected FA chairman Greg Clarke’s view that the national game is not ready for an out, gay, male player, insisting the body was not prepared to take on the problem.
The 45-year-old, one of only a handful of Brits to make it in the US National Basketball Association, was giving evidence to MPs in a Culture, Media and Sport Committee hearing on homophobia in sport.
Amaechi came out in 2007 and, despite a mixed initial reaction, said ‘being out is better than being in it frees you in so many ways.’
Asked why more British athletes from team sports, particularly football, have not come out, Amaechi, now a psychologist, said: “Football has the money and resources to do what it wants, but it purposefully does nothing,
“I have spoken to Premier League football players who do not think their club would be supportive.
“Fundamentally, it’s about will. These people have access to all the resources they need. They could do it now. They just don’t have the will to do it.”
Amaechi said if gay footballers came out, they could perform better, adding: “If someone is using one per cent of their energy to stop themselves being who they are, that is the difference between being good and being great.”
Last month, FA chief Greg Clarke told the committee he would not advise a footballer to come out while still playing because of the abuse they would get from the terraces and on social media.
Amaechi said he was ‘surprised’ we are still talking about the issue, but blamed it on ‘sport lagging behind society.’ He also claimed football did not treat homophobia as seriously as racism.
He dismissed Clarke’s view that fans were not ready to accept a gay player.
“There is always an undesirable and ignorant segment of society and you will find it on the field, in the stands and in boardrooms I would say the percentages move up when you reach the boardroom,” he said.
“It is outrageous for these powerful men to suggest that those who look up to them for leadership are solely responsible. We would not accept that at a school or in business, but we are led to believe fans are feral and somehow uncontrollable, while the tacit messages from leaders are not to blame.
“The lack of sanctions for sexist emails or homophobic behaviour, for example - that seeps down. These leaders are responsible for the tone they set, for allowing what they allow.”