It’s Pride month and that means everyone and their mom is leaping out of the closet! The newest person to come out as gay is retired footballer Thomas Beattie!
Beattie, who previously played for pro soccer teams in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Asia, announced the big news in an essay for ESPN earlier today. In the post, he opens up about feeling isolated as a gay man in the sports world and there being no out athletes to look up to.
“Being gay and having a career in football never felt like an option. Society told me my masculinity was linked to my sexuality — something we of course know is a false assumption — but I felt as if I couldn’t be a footballer and accept who I was. Everything around me suggested these two worlds were pure enemies, and I had to sacrifice one in order to survive. It doesn’t feel that way in other industries. In music, we love Freddie Mercury and Elton John. It’s accepted in film. Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, is gay, and these things are all OK.
“But in football, there’s still fear a gay teammate might disrupt the team environment. Sometimes it’s brushed away, like homophobia isn’t an issue in football anymore. Obviously that’s not true if there are so few examples young kids can look to as role models.”
Beattie writes that he only recently started coming out to family members over the past three months and that he is the first professional male footballer in Asia to come out. He also comments on the weird situation of being named one of Singapore’s most eligible bachelors in 2019. He says the title brought him a lot of attention he “could have done without.”
“I had certain obligations that I was supposed to fulfill — speak at news conferences, ask my social media followers to vote for me, accept invitations from women to accompany them to events — but I was refusing to do them. Throughout the whole ordeal I asked myself, why am I still doing this?
“I feel an obligation to tell my story now. Growing up, I never read a story like this, and I wonder how my life might have been different if I had. I also know I am writing at a time when so many of our lives have been disrupted. The current climate has us stuck inside, isolated more than ever. This is nothing new for a closeted gay athlete. Try having to deal with this feeling your entire life; it can be debilitating.”
The player ends his ESPN essay with a call to action. He asks his fellow players and those behind the scenes to be open to having other gay men on their teams.
And to the world of football — players, coaches, management, ownership, supporters — I challenge you to be compassionate. Search inside and ask yourself: What is it you truly believe about diversity, inequality and social injustice? Be conscious of the environment you are creating and try to decipher whether it is conducive for all groups of people to feel included. Do not fear the day where a gay athlete is wearing the badge on your shirt. Fear the prolonged period of time when there isn’t. After all, we could be missing out on the next Lionel Messi, who just might happen to be gay.
You can read Beattie’s entire essay here.
It’s written all over his face. Lol.
Thanks to him. Beattie could have shut up again, announced it to his family, but he announced it publicly. So thanks. Thomas Beattie is not the only sportsman to have announced his homosexuality, but he did. Football is no longer a sport reserved for a heterosexual elite, Beattie shows us that we can be gay and have a career there. A gay can be part of the sporting elite. A young gay man today can say, “If Beattie did it, I can do it!” and who can say no? Thank you Beattie!
Hypocrit.
Due to all ridiculously well paid cowards, like you and most sportsmen, who live their hidden life in welth and lies, there will never change a bit in the homophobic sportsworld and the world in general. Cause you didn’t do anything for the good cause, just sitting on your lazy cowardass in the closet; shame on you.
How sad and pathetic: “(…) and I hope it is a little easier for the next generation”. NO! Not one bit! Cause of you looser.
Cause you didn’t do anything, dude, not the least you could try; by being afraid and a coward.
Is that what heros like Harvey Milk and other activists in the 70ties and 80ties died for?
For you to hold your mouth shut in luxury? Afraid for your welthy position and income? You should be ashamed of yourself.
Is that how to win a war? By hiding… My God.
Frankly, better late than never. Would you be willing to give up your career and purpose, whatever that may be, to be openly gay? I’m sure some would, but most people just don’t have cast iron balls, otherwise ‘coming out’ wouldn’t even be a thing. You do realize how the media exploits such celebrities? I remember now even his family disgraced him in public when the footballer John Fashnu came out. While there were other obvious contributors, it clearly contributed to his suicide and when interviewed his brother (also a footballer and a huge cunt frankly) still showed shameless contempt years after said suicide.
If you think he could of attained his bully pulpit by being out u r a naive fool.
Save the judgemental bs for the religious fundies. they have no place in the tribe. All it dose is give those struggling with their sexuality MORE pause to come out not less. You want to know about those that died? Everyone, to a man would, of accepted this guys coming out when he was ready. Not when it is convenient for you.
Grow up.
Develop some empathy.
Be better.
Why come it now he is retired. I’m glad he’s happier but why make a big deal like all these other celebs do. They make a big deal going on tv shows talking about it .to me all that is them trying to get attention that’s not there anymore! Fine come out to friends family etc why the big deal. Coming out to friends an family is an important step. Telling the world is attention getting. Let the reaper of the world find out themselves.
No Just No. He still has a fan base and chances are some of them are LGB kids. He did it for them.
Coming out publicly just opened him up to the trolls of the world. Look at the comments here a lot are negative or about his body. Would you want to come out if this is what the tribe’s response is?
He has lovely nipples.
Sports is still such a homophobic world, good for him for having the courage to come out and be his true self.
Zzzzzzzzzz…….. who cares?
He is sexy !
Aren’t they all gay ?
Good for him, only he knows when the time is right to “come out”. This is how it should be, and not be exposed by some jerk who has an agenda to shame people, by outing others.