Charlton Athletic Online

One of the talking points on Radio Five Live this morning was about the number of gay footballers there are in the Premiership and potential homophobic attitudes within football clubs. Apparently, the radio station had sent a letter to each of the twenty Premiership clubs asking questions about whether they condone gay players, how they treat them, etc, etc. In response, only three clubs actually answered Radio Five Live, each commenting that they followed equal opportunities amongst staff, with the rest of the clubs refusing to comment at all.

Subsequently, ex-player Tony Cascarino spoke about how he thought it best that players did not "out themselves" until after they had retired, due to the amount of stick they may receive, and the Brighton Chairman commented on the verbal abuse that his club (supporters and players) receive from other clubs fans due to the substantial gay population of his town.

Are any Premiership footballers gay? Almost certainly, yes! Does it matter if any Premiership footballers are gay? Of course not! Whatever statistics you believe, a significant proportion of the male population of this country is gay, and no doubt there are going to be gay footballers too. Do footballers need to stand up and tell everyone about their sexual orientation? No, why should they? Whilst the media may be interested in a negative way, it does not make any difference to a players skill or work-rate or ability on the pitch, so why make a fuss about it?

In the past, there have been rumours about some players, and a few ex-footballers have admitted being gay - Justin Fashanu (pictured above) being the most obvious example. I know of at least two ex-Charlton players who were rumoured to be gay in the past, although these comments have never been substantiated.

Young males tend to go out clubbing quite a lot; some attend gay clubs by preference. If a footballer is spotted at a gay club, then this fact may leak out (this was certainly the case with one ex-Charlton player about fifteen years or so ago) and the rumours circulate.

Around twenty five years ago, pop stars started to come out of the closet, and slowly over the years the population has started to accept that it is OK to be openly gay. Famous people like Boy George, Marc Almond, David Bowie, Dave Gahan, Will Young, k d lang, and many others, are openly gay or bi-sexual, and justly proud. In time, we may well see footballers start to come out, and face up to the verbal stick they are bound to get from supporters. At this point, clubs will need to show their support for their staff in the same way that any other company would.

While it is important that football clubs - and not just Premiership teams - treat every employee equally, whether gay or straight, black or white, catholic or protestant, I cannot see the point of radio Five Live trying to kick up controversy about this matter recently.

Surely it is more important to discuss the potential bonus paid to England sqaud players should they win the World Cup, than any footballers sexual orientation.