To say that gay footballers ARE still role models

[Livetoplay]

I help coach a girls football team for 9-11 year olds. Fab bunch of kids who, unsurprisingly, LOVE the Lionnesses football team and have their individual heroes - Lucy Bronze, Alessia Russo, Leah Williamson etc - who they view as role models.
one day I could be like…

we use these women as examples to the kids of what hard work, practice, good team work etc can achieve -

one of the dads who helps out has somehow only now found out how many of the Lionesses are gay, and had a convo with me about how he thinks they maybe aren’t good role models ‘ given the circumstances’. He seems particularly pissed off that Leah Williamson has a girlfriend. His daughter worships her, and I think he actually had a bit of a crush himself.

have told him to stop being so ridiculous, the kids don’t care, no-one cares. I doubt the kids even think about it and even if they did suss that Lucy Bronze has a female partner, they are not going to give a stuff!

AIBU to say he’s being a twat!? We left it a bit frosty but I won’t put up with this nonsense. He thinks it ‘unprofessional’ for them to date England teammates. But it certainly hasn’t done the team any harm so far…

thisnisnt the first time I’ve had to shut blokes or male coaches down about the sexuality of women players, which they seem to seem as some kind of joke.

Yeah, chatting up someone of the opposite sex that you know is gay is - I believe - morally wrong. You're basically trying a form of conversion therapy.

But a celebrity crush... really not sure how fantasising about a gay man you will never meet, whilst in the privacy of your own house, is going to negatively affect him.

‘Why are any of them role models?’

well, for young girls playing what’s often still considered a ‘boy’ sport they are. They are inspired by these young women who Played despite sexism, homophobia, lack of resources, lack of opportunities to play ( many has to play in boys teams as there are weren’t enough girls teams), injury… and went on to win the European cup.
and off the pitch? They’re composed,
relatable, generous with their time and encouragement to young players. They take time to walk around the pitch, spend time with fans, give away their shirts, encourage them.
if you’re a little girl playing football they ( and others like them ) are absolutely role models and someone to look up to.

Gary lineker did a piece only last week where he stated that he knew 2 active premier league players who are gay, the dad is fucking mental to think that there wouldn't be any.

Yeah whereas male footballers are always excellent role models. All married with children. Never have affairs, never accused of sexual assault, never have reputations for being players off the pitch. I'm sure there's much less scandal in ladies football than mens but that doesn't fit his homophobic agenda so....

He’s homophobic. Unfortunately the majority of people would have shared his views 20 years ago. I sometimes wonder what happens to all the homophobes. I guess they are still out there.

The few women that are in financial services that are in their 20s and early 30s are also unlikely to have dropped everything to have a baby. Would he argue that a woman working in financial services was a poor role model because she doesn’t yet have kids or might never want kids?

As others have said, it’s easy for a male footballer in his twenties to have a family because it isn’t his career on the line. However, if we again look to financial services there are a number of men who wouldn’t have children in their twenties because they are spending a lot of time at the office, trying to grow their career. If he’s in his fifties with a 10 year old, then his daughter was born when he was in his forties. Does that make him a bad role model? Or just a hypocrite?

He’s basically reduced these professional sportswomen to nothing but breeding cattle where their only purpose is to have a husband and a family. He’s reduced his daughter to the same. There are women, in all professions, who are deciding that a partner and family will not allow them to reach their career ambitions. Women who are having families are having them later because they want to secure their own careers first. In sports, your career is limited so women have children later, it’s nothing to do with sexuality and actually about a woman making decisions about her own future and her own body.

The women’s England team player are deffo more down to earth than the male players… there’s no real comparison

I couldn't tell you whose gay or not weird.

Yup. No footballers are/should be role models. They should be in and around the childs life. Not just the iceberg effect of only seeing certain snippets of a celebs life.

I don't care whether people are gay or straight but I do agree it can be awkward to work alongside people who are dating or married.
It is very difficult to leave your home life at home and can sometimes be uncomfortable for others

How does their sexuality affect whether they are good role models? What a di*k🙄

It makes me so sad that there's not any openly gay premier league footballers so I'm so happy that the women are changing that. Amazing role models and the dad should be fired

He is everything that is wrong with football

Yeah, chatting up someone of the opposite sex that you know is gay is - I believe - morally wrong. You're basically trying a form of conversion therapy.

What on earth?! I don't even know where to start with this one. Do you seriously think your powers of the come-on are so, so powerful they're actually akin to conversion therapy? You really believe you are so magnetically, inescapably attractive, that the mere experience of a flirty encounter with you is the same as a sustained and deliberate attempt to break down someone's sexual orientation?

I can't decide whether you've got a really high opinion of yourself, or whether you don't understand how serious conversion therapy is.

I'm guessing their thoughts are it's a silly question to ask...a bit like "AIBU to think racism is bad?"

@CheezePleeze oh, if only.

If this dad helps out at football coaching then imo he’s not a good role model for any young person with his homophobic views and ignorance.

Good role models don’t infect others with their sexuality but a homophobic one could cause a lot of suffering to a young gay person who is still very young. Or older people because who wants to be hated for something that is intrinsically them.

Does that need punctuation?

You can't really chat up someone who's not sexually attracted to you Tho. You can just flirt pointlessly at them.

By your logic, a fat woman chatting up a straight up who

What would it matter. As long as they play Football well who cares?

How do people even know these things ? Just concentrate on the game.

Pressurised? That''s nasty.if true.But it shouldn't surprise. Power groups form and look for recruits. There is no reason to suppose that gay groups would be nicer than any other.

I haven't read the full thread but I would say they perfect role models. Genuine people who believe in themselves, their own talent and who have worked very hard to achieve what they have!! Isnt that literally the definition of 'role model'?

The dad is being homophobic and very delusional about male gay footballers!

Recruits? Recruits for what?

So, update for anyone that cares!
talked to dad and turns out he thinks his DD is gay. And had a panic. I asked him what if she was and he said, well I’d love her anyway, just want her to be happy etc. So we had a chat and he feels better, I told him his choice really was love/ support her or lose her eventually.

Hopeful that the message got through.
also told him he has to do the FA Safeguarding course if he wants to continue helping with the team and he is. It’s full of stuff about the emotional and mental
well-being of the kids as well as the physical stuff and it will help with his general attitude.

Well that's good. Hopefully if it comes to it he'll put his money where his mouth is, because the things he were saying in the OP were vile.