Issue 3 The Granite Rock.pdf - StudentNet - Aberdeen College

Gay footballers,
what is the problem? problem?
Written by Gemma Stewart
I came in one day to something that caught my eye on TV; a documentary on BBC 3 which
turned out to be very interesting to watch. ‘The silence over gay footballers’; done by Amal
Fashanu, who is the niece of Justin Fashanu - the only openly gay footballer in Britain. The
documentary was trying to find out the reason on why so many footballers are not willing to
speak about their sexuality and why it is such a problem in society today.
In Britain there are currently 5000 professional footballers, but none that are open about their
sexuality of being gay. Why might this be? This opens the question to why footballers are so
scared to be open about their sexuality in the eyes of other people. Has the media really got a
lot to answer for when it comes to abuse and taunts from the fans of football? Why has society
turned out to be this way when I comes to sexuality - what is the problem?
When Justin came out as gay a lot of people did not know how to react, a lot of his friends and
family disowned him - but all this was back in 1990’s, so why has the issue of being gay not
changed since then?
There is a lot in the news at the moment about same sex marriage and how this can be changed
to allow it to take place. At least society seems to be taking a step in the right direction. We
have openly famous celebrities; like Matt Lucas, Will Young, Elton John and Ian McKellen that
are willing to be open about their sexuality and there are even openly gay sportsmen and woman
such as: Gareth Thomas, Martina Navratilova and Matthew Mitcham, but to be honest there is
not much more. Is it fair to label these people - there is nothing different about them except the
fact that they choose to admit their homosexuality.
Why should we as people be aloud to judge anyone when it comes to their sexuality? We do not
make comment when people are straight; is that because it is seen as ‘right’ in everyone’s eyes?
Who gave us the rules to what our sexuality should be? Who said it is right or wrong to be gay?
This documentary was put together well and did try to get the answers they may have been
looking for, but it has not made a difference to how footballers feel, even sportspersons. I think
the main people are the supporters: the fans need to be given the information too. Shouldn’t we
support our favourite star no matter if they are gay or straight?
Rangers FC
It seems almost an impossibility to imagine a Scottish Football League without
Glasgow Rangers. However, in light of their recent financial depletion, it could
potentially become a heartening reality. Chairman Craig Whyte has questions to
answer to irate fans in relation to a £50m unpaid tax bill from HMRC. This tax bill,
on top of running costs and other debts, has forced the club to enter administration;
a move which could have damaging effects on the current SPL Champion’s on-field
activities, as well as the events behind the scenes in the boardroom.
This development could potentially add
Rangers FC to the ever-growing list of
Scottish football clubs - such as Gretna,
Clydebank and Airdreonians - who
all felt the brutal force of the financial
strain that grips Scottish football. Although
Rangers are confident that they
can overcome this ordeal, there is still a
questionmark hanging over their future.
To the majority of Scottish football fans,
it seems very questionable as to why Rangers can attract crowds of 40,000 to Ibrox
Stadium every second Saturday, as well as taking well over 2000 fans to nearly every
away fixture, yet they still are unable to meet
their financial payments. It is these very
dedicated supporters who are seeking answers
as to why Craig Whyte and the Ibrox
boardroom have allowed their club to build
up debts they simply cannot afford.
As a result of the recent developments,
Rangers’ bid to retain their SPL title for the
fourth consecutive season have been dealt a
massive blow with the automatic sanction of
a ten-point deduction for going into administration.
Rangers currently lie in second place in the SPL table, a worrying 15 points behind
their bitter rivals Celtic.
Written by Ewan Forbes
(all correct at time of print)
*IMAGES HAVE BEEN RELEASED
FOR USE OF ANY PURPOSE*
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