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Retired German football star becomes first Premier League player to come out as gay

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Thomas Hitzlsperger, a German Soccer player has publicly come out as gay. The German National Midfielder who played for world class soccer clubs such as Everton, and West Ham United discusses being gay just a month before the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

An article by The Daily Mail states:

In what was a landmark moment for football, he told Germany's Die Zeit newspaper that now was "a good time" for him to reveal his sexuality.

Hitzlsperger said: "I'm coming out about my homosexuality because I want to move the discussion about homosexuality among professional sports people forwards."

The retired footballer said he has only realized "in the past few years" that he would "prefer to live together with another man"; saying the issue is otherwise taboo inside the dressing room.

"I've never been ashamed of the way I am," he added, although he conceded it has not always been easy to live with some of the comments dished out on the subject."

Hitzlsperger is the latest in a line of professional athletes who have recently opened up the conversation about gay athletes worldwide. He joins Jason Collins, Robbie Rogers and Tom Daley, who in the last 12 months publicly came out, promoting equality in sports. By publicly speaking about being gay just a month before the opening ceremony in Sochi, Hitzlsperger, as well as other openly gay athletes, help spread awareness about the anti-gay laws in Russia.

 

January 8, 2014
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