If I had the opportunity to ask Miss Holl a question, I’d ask her whether she believes cowards make good athletes. In the world of sport you cannot lack the courage to endure dangerous or unpleasant things. Pressure, pain and defeat are just some of the many characteristics one most overcome to be a successful athlete. Adversity motivates. The world of sport is full of heckling, sledging, and abuse. I doubt when Gareth Thomas takes to the field and hears the word “faggot” or “homo” he runs back to the locker room crying. I am sure the comments only spur him to want to obliterate the opposing team even more.
—Blake Skjellerup, the Olympic speed skater from New Zealand, countering comments made by Germany’s national soccer team goalie Ursula Holl, who is married to a woman, and who told reporters, “I think it is problematic that gay players should come out. The more you disclose about your personal life, the more vulnerable you are. And the fans in the stadium can be very, very cruel. These public hostilities would be difficult to bear…I would not advise any football player to come out.”
Cam
Good for him. Hell Monica Seles came back after being stabbed in the neck and back dispite lingering fears and emotional issues that this caused her, to win another Grand Slam.
DR
We need out athletes to stop apologizing for being out. We can’t rely on the straight ones to speak for us, we have to speak for ourselves. I realize that this conversation may not be full of pleasant observations (hey, Ms. Holl is speaking the truth from her perspective), but the dialog needs to happen. And it needs to happen among gay athletes now.