These Australian football players really want a gay player to come out
An Aussie Rules Footballer (Getty Images)
A group of professional Australian rules football players are keen for a gay player to come out so they can end the taboo around sexual orientation.
The footballers said the AFL, the highest professional league in the sport, needs to address the issue in the same way it did with race and domestic violence.
Matt Spangher of the Hawthorns, Tyson Goldsack of Collingwood and the captain of the Essendon team Brendon Goddard all called on the league to make it easy for a gay player to come out.
The three said any gay player who felt they could come out would be supported.
Goddard said they thought an out gay senior player would create a “domino effect”.
Referring to his own gay sister, Spangher said homophobic language is still used in the sport, and that it must stop.
Spangher also said that could possibly be the reason why no gay player has felt comfortable enough to come out.
He said: “You can’t control how the crowd reacts or what they say. All you can do is educate and hope you can make a difference.”
Goldsack added that the AFL is “probably behind the times” when it comes to sexual orientation.
The three players, as well as Richmond player Trent Cotchin and Chris Judd from Brownlow will support a fun run ‘Move in May’ on 22 May.
