Professional Association Football Players in Men’s Major Leagues? Revisiting the Views of Football Fans in the United Kingdom

Cashmore, Ellis, Dixon, Kevin and Cleland, Jamie (2023) Professional Association Football Players in Men’s Major Leagues? Revisiting the Views of Football Fans in the United Kingdom. Journal of Homosexuality, 70 (8). pp. 1653-1673. ISSN 0091-8369

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Abstract

In a survey of 3,500 association football fans conducted by members of the research team over a decade ago, most participants predicted that at least one gay football player would feel comfortable enough to disclose their sexuality publicly by 2014, and that many other players would follow this lead in the following years. Ten years on, gay players can be found in all major sports, but association football remains an outlier. Using an anonymous online survey, we invited football fans to advance their own views on why events have not transpired as expected. A sample of 2663 participants revealed: (a) 95 percent would welcome openly gay players, meaning by implication, football culture is a more gay-friendly environment than wider society; (b) Participants attributed the continued silence of gay players to football’s gatekeepers e.g., agents, managers, and owners; (c) Paradoxically, homophobic language is used by fans but is not considered malicious.

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