Big Gay Closet

We’ve heard a lot of sports coming out stories. Very few of these have been from people who are still active in their sports. Others have waited until retirement to get things off their chest.

Eighteen years ago, professional footballer, Justin Fashanu, came out in an interview with The Sun. His career and personal life suffered after the revelation. In 1998 he took his own life following an accusation of sexual assault.

Pink News has a feature on homophobia in football including Justin Fashanu’s story.

Disowned by his brother and England player John, increasingly alienated from football and embroiled in a sex-assault scandal in America, Justin hung himself in 1998. “I do not want to give any more embarrassment to my friends and family,” the suicide note read. Not a single British professional footballer has publicly come out since.

Read the rest at  Pink News.

You might find these interesting too:

1. Study: Soccer fans would back gay players
2. Joan Rivers: Being closeted in Hollywood is “part of the game”
3. Jared Max, ESPN radio host, comes out