Former German footballer Thomas Hitzlsperger reveals he is gay!...

[Vanilla Bear]

...and says homosexuality is a topic 'ignored' in football

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Hitzlsperger, who retired in September due to a knee injury, said in an interview with German magazine Die Zeit that the awareness of being gay was "a long and difficult process" and that "only in recent years has it dawned on me that I would prefer to live with another man”.

Hitzlsperger, who started out at Bayern Munich before joining Aston Villa in 2000, felt that it was right for him to come out at the end of his career even though he admits he has "never been ashamed" of his sexuality.

"I was never ashamed of being who I am but it was not always easy to sit on a table with 20 young men and listen to jokes about gays. You let them get on with it as long as the jokes are somewhat funny and not too insulting.
"Being gay is a topic that is 'ignored' in football and not 'a serious topic in the changing room'. Fighting spirit, passion and winning mentality are."

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

All power to him. But I think if he revealed it while still being active it would have help more to "move the discussion (...) forwards". So I hope more footballers or other sportspeople reveal they are homosexual, but do it when they're still active in their sport.