Thomas Hitzlesperger, who used to play for Premier League trio Aston Villa, West Ham United and Everton, has revealed that he is gay.
The 31-year-old, who has featured for his country, Germany, over 50-times, made the announcement in a magazine, and has become the second high-profile footballer to make the announcement after his playing days.
There has been a lot of media coverage regarding this topic and asking why player’s come out after they finish playing football, and a previous footballer, Robbie Rodgers, who also came out after his playing days ended, revealed there was too much pressure on a footballer to come out whilst still playing.
The former-Leeds midfielder admitted that he would not have liked to play in front of fans if they knew he was gay, and he also believed the dressing room would be different if team-mates knew about his preference.
Hitzlesperger had this to say: “In England, Italy and Germany being a homosexual is no big thing, at least not in the dressing room,” he said, before adding: “I have never been ashamed for the fact that I am like I am.”
“I’m coming out about my homosexuality because I want to move the discussion about homosexuality among professional sportspeople forwards,” he added.
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles
