You'd have to know that many people in sport - both men and women - have struggled with their sexuality, and that hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people in general are on the rise in England and Wales. You'd have to be aware of Lloyd Wilson and Josh Cavallo, and the bravery it took both men to open up about their authentic selves in a sport where gay and bisexual men have historically been marginalised. You'd have to have listened to the stories of Jake Daniels and Zander Murray, talking about the weight they felt as teenagers in the game when they believed they had to hide their sexuality to get on in the game. The answer is yes - but to understand that, you'd have to understand what it's like to be an LGBTQ+ person in football, and in society. The significanceĪfter all, a hacked account or a poorly-worded tweet doesn't have the power to change lives - and if it was just a bad joke between old team-mates, reportedly made in response to Spanish media speculation about Casillas' private life… well, so what? "I made a mistake," Puyol tweeted in apology, "sorry for a clumsy joke with no bad intentions."īut regardless of the intent of the World Cup and European Championship winners, the reaction online was strong and severe.įootball referee Ryan Atkin - who happens to be gay - accused the two men of "fuelling homophobia in the game", saying the pair needed to "hang their head in shame" Networking group Sports Media LGBT+ external-link criticised both the "flippancy of the tweets… and the weak backtrack". Two hours after the 'respect me: I'm gay' post went up, Casillas deleted it - and replaced it with a new tweet, claiming he'd been hacked but that everything was now "in order". "It's time to tell our story, Iker," said Carles Puyol - Casillas' former team-mate for Spain, signing off his response with a kiss emoji.Īnd, as it turned out, Casillas wasn't coming out at all. Had it been true, Casillas would have been the most significant male player to open up about their sexuality, in a sport where the number of out male role models can still be counted on the fingers of a pair of goalkeeping gloves.īut among all the supportive replies to Casillas' supposed coming out, there was a tell-tale sign that things weren't what they seemed. Those words represented, at least at first glance, a watershed moment for football. "I hope you respect me: I'm gay," said a tweet from the account of the former Real Madrid and Spain goalkeeper.
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