Paddy Power gets behind Stonewall UK campaign for gay footballers

UK gay rights advocacy group Stonewall has updated their ‘Some people are gay. Get over it’ campaign to help bring professional football into the 21st century, and high-street betting shop Paddy Power has signed up to ‘right behind gay footballers’.

The campaign launched across billboards and social media today with the hashtag #RBGF and a series of posters such as ‘Some footballers are gay. Get over it.’, ‘We don’t care which team you play for.’ and most poetically given Paddy Power is known for betting statistics, ‘Over 5,000 professional footballers and none of them are gay. What ae the odds on that?’.

At present there are no out professional footballers in the UK, which is pretty statistically impossible. Of course there are so few out athletes in most professional sports, but this is a great first step.

Paddy Power has also sent rainbow show laces to professional footballers calling for them to wear them on their football boots this weekend as a statement of support for gay players, a move they hope will encourage gay footballers to finally feel safe to come out. It would be great for Paddy Power to distribute (or sell with a donation to Stonewall) rainbow laces to fans.

One professional footballer, Joey Barton, has gotten behind the campaign, one of the few footballers to lace up for gay players.

Join the rainbow laces movement. Sexuality in sport should not be an issue in the 21st century. #RBGF

— Joseph Barton (@Joey7Barton) September 16, 2013

According the Guardian newspaper, there are no openly gay footballers in any major professional league in England, Scotland, Wales or Ireland, however one American player, Robbie Rogers, who played for Leeds United, came out last February. While Rogers also announced his retirement from the sport at the same time, he signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer team in May, therefore making him the only and first openly gay male player in Major League Soccer. Rogers commented that during his time in England, coming out would not have been possible.

Coming out in sport remains one of the few areas left for gays.