Manchester United Keeper Anders Lindegaard Claims Sport Needs A Gay “Hero”

We here in America, if you follow not just sports but politics and lifestyle as well, are besieged with comments about how intolerant society is. You decide that for yourself if you think that is true or not. It's nice to see that not just Americans are hit with the "intolerant" tag. According to Danish Goalie Anders Lindegaard his sport needs a "gay hero." That is the claim the net minder made recently on his blog site.

Lindegaard claims football fans are "stuck in a time of intolerance." The last soccer star to come out and claim he was gay was back in 1990 and it was Justin Fashanu.

Lindegaard wrote on his blog:

"I think first and foremost that a homosexual colleague is afraid of the reception he would get from the fans." Lindegaard claims whomever this player would be would be easily accepted by his teammates but not by fans, claiming "my impression is that the players would not have a problem accepting a homosexual."

Lindegaard also claimed:

"homosexuality in football is a taboo subject. The atmosphere on the pitch and in the stands is tough. The mechanisms are primitive, and it is often expressed through a classic stereotype that a real man should be brave, strong, and aggressive."

My own thought here is I didn't know a gay person couldn't be all those qualities! The goaltender continued his thoughts with this "the problem for me is that a lot of football fans are stuck in a time of intolerance that does not deserve to be compared to modern society's developments in the last decades. While the rest of the world has been more liberal, civilized and less prejudiced, the world of football remains stuck in the past when it comes to tolerance."

Lindegaard finished off his blog post with this:

"homosexuals are in need of a hero. They are in need of someone who dares to stand up for their sexuality."

It will be interesting to see if any gay players even play euro soccer or American soccer or organized soccer and if so whether they will follow Lindegaard's advice. It is interesting to note though that the average American journalist will swear our country is the most intolerant of gays. I would disagree with the average American journalist!