For decades has inequality and discrimination been rife in sport. Awareness is arguably stronger now than ever in history, but still prejudice remains. Still, too, do players of a certain race, a certain religion, a certain gender and a certain sexuality receive unimaginable inequity from the so-called cognoscenti. There is no immediate solution to end this and, presumably yet shamefully, it will remain prevalent in society for the generations that follow.
On Monday, 21st June, Oakland Raiders’ Defensive End, Carl Nassib, came out as gay. Nassib’s statement is one of sheer courage and spirit. For the global LGBT community, there are few other groundbreaking moments such as this. A modern day pioneer, Nassib becomes the first active NFL player to open up about his sexuality. As progressive and exceptional as this news is, it should serve as a reminder that it has taken until the midst of 2021 for an active player in the NFL to do this. It should not have to be a prominent news story, but serves as a testament to the environment they perform in - unwelcoming, on the whole - which unequivocally caters for an element of fear when you are 'bucking the trend' of so-called Victorian values.
Nassib is entering his sixth season in the NFL, having been drafted 65th overall in the third-round by the Cleveland Browns in 2016. He signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers soon after, and spent two years there before signing a three-year deal with the Raiders back in March 2020.
Nassib’s announcement, which was posted on his Instagram account, during Pride month, was essential not primarily for himself, but for others in sport where being gay remains upsettingly far from the conventional.
“I'm a pretty private person so I hope that you guys know that I'm really not doing this for attention. I just think that representation and visibility are so important”, Nassib explained.
It is the superior solution to fighting homophobia in sport when, as millions are supporting and watching across the globe, one of the players is openly gay. How else can one bring about change? How else can one alter the environment for so many? Nassib’s proclamation will hopefully entice more gay athletes to follow suit, so they too can feel comfortable in their own skin in life, and in their workplace. This is not chiefly for those involved in American Football, either, as his message will hopefully create further change for the better globally. Sport is for all. If someone is against their involvement, then only they are the issue.
Homosexuality is not foreign in sport but, in American football and European football specifically, it is desperately rare. These athletes have grown up in an environment where being called ‘gay’ is an insult, where being gay makes you less of a man, and where acting gay is perceived as some sort of comic joke. No wonder there are so few, when many of your colleagues and supporters think the same. And what has history shown? The first, and only, professional footballer to come out as gay in the top tiers of English football is Justin Fashanu. His career was trailblazing for his race and sexuality, all for a man whose life was cut tragically short by guilt and harassment. One would have wished his bravery would have unlocked the door for further to follow, but for a harrowing ending such as this, there is shameful reason to be fearful.
And for all this, Nassib’s courage is only reinforced. For all the entreaties of a vocal minority, they are the problem. Inclusivity will broaden in sport and, with that, will inclusivity grow in life. Representation matters, but still too many turn their noses up at it. In the days that followed Nassib’s announcement, his jersey sat atop the list of the highest sellers, a welcome response when many would have thought otherwise. For where there is ignorance, there is also esteem. Beauty is what you make of it and, as Oscar Wilde quilled 140 years prior:
“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”
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