Thomas Hitzlsperger Joins the Long List of Out Gay Sports Stars-Here are some
Thomas Hitzlsperger's announcement he is gay has been described as "an important sign of our time" by Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski.
Former Aston Villa, West Ham, Everton and Germany midfielder Hitzlsperger revealed his true sexuality in Germany's Die Zeit newspaper on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old, who ended his playing career in September due to persistent injuries, decided to make the announcement because now was "a good time" for him and because he wanted to promote the discussion of homosexuality in professional sport.
"I'm coming out about my homosexuality because I want to move the discussion about homosexuality among professional sportspeople forwards,'' said Hitzlsperger in an interview which will be published in full in Die Zeit on Thursday
Justin Fashanu – Football
Justin Fashanu broke new barriers being the first footballer publicly to come out. However, his was a story of tragedy. He played for more than 20 clubs, including a brief stint in the US, and on his retirement in 1998 he took his own life in his flat in London over fears he would be facing a lengthy jail sentence after claims of a sexual assault on a 17-year-old boy.
Steven Davies – Cricket
The England wicketkeeper was the first and remains the only openly gay cricketer. Of his decision to come out he said his friends and team-mates had known for a while. At the time, the England team director Andy Flower said: "Steve's private life is his own concern. It has absolutely no bearing on his ability to excel at the very highest level in international sport."
Robbie Rogers – Football
The American came out in February 2013 and immediately retired. However, he made a return to football three months later, joining LA Galaxy. In a blog post published last year he said: "People love to preach about honesty, how honesty is so plain and simple. Try explaining to your loved ones after 25 years you are gay."
Martina Navratilova – Tennis
The nine-times Wimbledon singles champion became the first openly homosexual tennis player in 1981, shortly after she gained US citizenship. In 2000, she was the recipient of the National Equality Award from the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay and lesbian activist/lobbying group.
Gareth Thomas – Rugby
Thomas represented Wales at both rugby union and rugby league. He is the third most capped Welsh rugby union player, with 100 Test caps and a further three playing for the British & Irish Lions. He announced publicly that he is gay in 2009 and, a year later, he received Stonewall’s Hero of the Year award.
You can check a long list of athletes that have come out around the world (click below):
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