Breaking barriers
Coronation Street tackles sporting homophobia
STATISTICALLY, there must be lots of gay professional footballers currently playing in the UK.
And yet, not a single one of them is out. They fear the homophobia that, sadly, is still rife in the game.
All of which makes it very welcome that Coronation Street is tackling this issue in a hardhitting current storyline. James Bailey (played by Nathan Graham) is a professional footballer who is not out to the wider world. He is thrown into a very difficult dilemma when a reporter approaches him saying he knows about his true sexuality.
Graham, 28, who consulted Keegan Hirst, the first British rugby league player to come out, about how to approach this delicate storyline, begins by detailing why he believes it is crucial for the soap to address this subject. “It is important because it is clearly an issue as there is no-one currently playing professional football who is openly gay.
“After talking to Keegan Hirst,
I can see that in football, homophobia is not seen as being on the same level as racism. So it is good to spark that conversation and then hopefully it will educate people that discrimination is discrimination, no matter what it is – race, religion, sexuality.”
The actor, who has played Bailey since May of last year, continues that, “If a sportsperson is gay, it doesn’t take away from their ability. With any type of discrimination, until people are educated, nothing will change. If someone is going through this struggle, I hope they see themselves represented and they know that it is OK to own who you are.”
When the Bailey family arrived on the Street last year, it was announced that the drama would be exploring homophobia in sport through the character of James.
But since then, that plot has unfolded slowly on screen, which Graham believes is a good thing. “The storyline has been a slow burner, but it was important to do that. I think it has been done well because it gave the audience a chance to get to know James.
“It also adds an aspect of realism because James has come out to each person in his own time – and every person he tells is a hurdle. That can’t be rushed and, when I’ve spoken to people, they’ve said that’s how it happens in real life. James has had to let that hurdle digest before telling the next person.”
Graham runs through what else he learnt from meeting Keegan Hirst. “Once he told the people who he wanted to know and who had weight in his life, when it came to the point of him coming out publicly, it wasn’t such a big deal for him. It was good to speak to someone who had experience of what
James is going through in the sporting world in real life.”
The actor expands on his thoughts about taking on this potentially difficult plot. “I enjoy playing storylines with emotion because I enjoy the challenge and my focus is the work. I’ve always known it is an important storyline. However, at first, I hadn’t really processed what sort of impact the storyline might have. “But, as the story has progressed, and after speaking to Keegan Hirst, I know I really need to make sure that I am doing a good job. We are all trying to give it the respect, the care and the attention it needs. We have a duty to do the story justice.” Graham assesses the effect that keeping this secret is having on Bailey’s mental and emotional health. “It’s affecting him because there’s only so much you can hold onto something without it getting on top of you.
“It’s a struggle for him and it’s definitely weighing on him all the time because essentially when he leaves his house, he is living a lie to everybody else. So how long can that continue until it gets the better of him? Or how long until it just comes out? It is a ticking time-bomb that could erupt either way.”
The actor wraps up by outlining what he would like for his character. “I want James to be the first out football player and live his truth. I want him to be a catalyst for other players to come out, so then there is a community of players who are openly gay.
“The governing bodies in football then might realise they need to make it a safe environment and show people that there is zero tolerance for any sort of homophobia.”