WHEN WILL A GAY IRISH FOOTBALLER COME OUT?

In the last few weeks, it seems like coming out is the new staying in.  First, English cricketer Steven Davies announced he was gay.  Then, Ireland elected its first publicly homosexual TDs.  And if you were watching really closely, Anton Hysen, Swedish professional footballer and son of former Liverpool centre back Glenn Hysen, joined the ranks of gay sportspeople out of the closet.

What did they all have in common?  No one cared.  They were barely newsworthy.  In the case of Hysen, the news was largely ignored by the mainstream media and even in Twitterworld, where every molehill is quickly transformed into a 140 character mountain, it barely registered a whimper.

Which is as it should be.  In a recent poll, 70% of Irish people supported the concept of gay marriage.  It's hard to imagine such a result even ten years ago.  Basically, we have grown up as a society and left this archaic, bigoted discrimination behind us.  Aside from the odd Neanderthal like Iris Robinson, homophobia is a thing of the past.

Or is it?  Why have no Irish footballers declared their homosexuality?  It's surely inconceivable that there are no gay players in the League of Ireland but no players have come out.

It doesn't seem to be such an issue in other sports.  Most famously, Donal Og Cusack, the Cork hurler made his big announcement a couple of years ago to almost universally popular reaction.  In women's sports, where in some cases there are likely to be a much higher ratio of gay players, it's generally considered to be the norm to be open about sexuality.

The dearth of publicly out footballers is not just confined to Irish football.  The only known example in the English game is the tragic Justin Fashanu, whose life ended in suicide in 1998.  While the reasons for suicide are often complex, his experiences after the announcement are likely to have been a factor in his demise.

Although society has moved on since then, a British website dedicated to the memory of the Justin Fashanu (the Justin Campaign) was set up in 2008 to combat homophobia in football.  A related website Red Card Homophobia is running a similar international campaign.

Put simply, homophobia must still be a problem in football but why?  Why can other Irish sportspeople make the jump but not footballers?

One theory is that the reaction of fans puts players off.  It seems almost certain that most team-mates would be supportive of a player in this situation and would actually probably go out of their way to support him.  I would also imagine that if a top player came out, his own supporters would be, at worst, apathetic and, at best, supportive but it's the opposition fans that seem to concern players.

Anyone who has been to a League of Ireland match (and it's the same in most countries) will agree the stands are not for the sensitive or faint-hearted.  Equally, players, particularly at sparsely attended games in this country, can't avoid hearing some of the choice remarks made by opposition fans.  Everyone would agree that the decency mark is frequently overstepped.

To take the point even further, is it possible that some gay men, good enough to make it at the game in this country, actually don't pursue a career because they feel the culture doesn't welcome them.  You'd hope not but it must be a possibility.

Maybe Donal Og is an exceptional character.  He couldn't be the only gay GAA player either but no-one else has followed his lead.

Maybe we are all guilty of brushing homophobia under the carpet.  The Show Racism the Red Card campaign is supported by the PFAI and players unions around the world but homophobia remains ignored.  Only when professional football accepts this it's a problem will the culture change.

It seems sad that there are either gay players who won't play the game or those who do but suffer in silence.  No-one should have to hide who they are.  I hope any player reading this who falls into that category can stand up and be counted.

Ireland needs an Anton Hysen, the League of Ireland needs a Donal Og.  Yes, it will be tough but the support would be immense.  The PFAI will be available for any player who wants to make the step up and out.

Have you got it what it takes?

Stuart Gilhooly is the PFAI solicitor and can be followed on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DSBAPresident