Hi, In the Netherlands they had a big "tweet" uproar about a soccer trainer who upon seeing the Dutch Soccer Association participation in the Amsterdam Pride parade, commented that in professional soccer there are hardly any gays who need to come out of the closet because if you are gay and 14 you stop playing soccer and become a hair dresser. Needless to say, a lot of comments on the stupidity of this remark, but it touches on the whole issue of gay people in professional sports. I'm sure this has been mentioned before here, but since we have an international forum at EC, what are people's experiences in being gay and active in sport. Did you feel that being gay would be accepted by your team mates? They would feel comfortable taking showers with you (as is common in many team sports)? Would you have major barriers to deal with? Personally, having worked with soccer teams in the past, I feel that being gay was not something you would advertise. If they suspect, they would tease you, but if you played it too open, it would be a major problem. I'm sure in other cultures this is the same or even worse? Does the type of sport matter (easier in golf than in American football?)? Comments?
