#GAY ANIME SHOWS 2017 COMING OUT PRO#
The 32-year-old, a National League South referee and EFL fourth official, explained how being promoted back to the pro ranks after a previous demotion presented him with two opportunities – to return as a ref who brought his whole self to the game, and to lend his voice to the fight for improved LGBT inclusion in football.
#GAY ANIME SHOWS 2017 COMING OUT PROFESSIONAL#
Here’s to more in 2018! Ryan Atkin (Sky Sports)īeing gay doesn’t matter in the context of refereeing a match but if I’m speaking about equality and diversity, then I’m going to mention that I’m gay because it’s relevant.Īt the start of the 2017/18 season, Ryan Atkin became the first person with an active matchday role in UK men’s professional football to come out in almost 27 years. Thanks to the men and women below for sharing – and to anyone reading, please let us know any other 2017 stories we’ve missed that had an impact on you. They were also authentic.Īround the world, other LGBT people will have read or watched, and felt empowered stronger connections will have been formed between those athletes and fans new and old and for a few stars of tomorrow who are also LGBT, they might have seen reflections of their future selves. All the stories were moving, inspirational, honest, entertaining or just matter-of-fact – and often a mixture of all of those. That diversity within diversity was also apparent in the list below of 10 LGBT sports interviews from 2017 (ordered alphabetically by surname). Every LGBT person deals with it differently – even after we first come out.
![gay anime shows 2017 coming out gay anime shows 2017 coming out](https://cdn.anime-planet.com/anime/primary/sasaki-and-miyano-1-285x399.jpg)
Perhaps we’re simply a bit more open on Instagram perhaps we start to actively fight more for causes close to our hearts perhaps we prefer to keep certain boundaries in place. Sexual orientation or gender identity don’t have to define those of us who are ‘out’ but to varying degrees, it becomes part of us and helps shape our world view, and sometimes our sense of purpose too. Yet that fear remains very real for many others, and in sport – with all its traditions and stereotypes, and often with the intense focus of the public eye – it’s heightened still further. That was the part of my life that I was most frightened of being judged on.Ĭasey overcame the fear and as she says herself, “the reaction was overwhelmingly positive”. What do you look like, how do you play, how do you perform, what’s your diet like – you’re judged on everything. As a player, as a footballer, you get judged every day. It was the fear of judgement from everybody else.
![gay anime shows 2017 coming out gay anime shows 2017 coming out](https://static1.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/black-butler.jpg)
The final hurdle to overcome was the one she couldn’t control. She explained how she arrived at the crossroads of potentially speaking to the media about her sexuality – the sense that times were changing but that some were still struggling, the responsibility of being England captain, the happiness in life that she had found personally. A relationship, a friendship, an interest, an activity, a social media interaction… at some point, every now and then, a situation arises whereby someone new learns that you’re lesbian, gay, bi or trans.Ĭasey’s story from Sky Sports‘ ‘My Icon’ interview in November was one of my favourites from that series. It’s been almost four years since Casey Stoney came out publicly – but as all LGBT people know, however out you are, it’s something that never actually ceases. “I had a profile that I felt I could use in a really positive way… it was when I felt comfortable in my own skin” – England and Liverpool footballer Casey Stoney, reflecting on coming out publicly in February 2014, My Icon: Rainbow Laces, Sky Sports
![gay anime shows 2017 coming out gay anime shows 2017 coming out](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XneU_yVexSc/maxresdefault.jpg)
Some of these athletes weren’t publicly out at all before sharing their stories others had been open about being LGBT to some extent on social media, but hadn’t previously spoken about that part of their identity before in a major interview (to the best of our knowledge!) This time round, Jon’s looked back on the year as a whole to select 10 ‘coming out’ stories from LGBT sportsmen and women that hit the mainstream media (mostly from the UK, but with one from the US too). Last weekend on the site, Jon Holmes looked back at the Rainbow Laces activation in November / December 2017, and picked out some ‘media moments’ that defined the campaign message and helped make a difference.