Meet Rudi Assauer. He’s the former coach of Schalke 04, the German soccer club. He thinks he is bad ass because he smokes cigars and drapes his arms around beautiful women. And Assauer, who insists he’s “never” met a gay person, thinks there’s no place for faggoty fag faggots in sport.
“Perhaps they are OK in other sports but not in football,” he says. “‘If a player came to me and said he was gay I would say to him: ‘You have shown courage.’ But then I would tell him to find something else to do.” Not because he hates gays (he only says “There is no place in football for gays”) but because he has their best interests at heart! “That’s because those who out themselves always end up busted by it, ridiculed by their fellow players and by people in the stands. We should spare them these witch-hunts.”
On the one hand, he has a point: Justin Fashanu, the only European soccer player to ever come out while still playing, was tortured by the league and ended up taking his own life (amidst sex assault allegations). On the other hand, it’s guys like Assauer who are involved increating the atmosphere of witch hunts.
justin
Bullshit, I’m an out high school athlete at a catholic school, and nobody gives a shit. I know I’ve been lucky, but the world is changing.
Chris
As a German who has read about Assauer for a long time, I can tell you, the guy is not someone to take lessons in ethics or relationships from.
chris
I guess he has a point…but still, if he wanted to ‘spare us’ the witch hunts then why doesn’t he outright oppose them?
schlukitz
I think his names reads better as Rudi Sauerass.
Cam
Don’t you just love these “Macho” straight guys who seem to be terrified at the prospect of being teased? Oh boo Hoo, somebody might tease you! Well “Coach” here’s an idea….what would you do if you had a great player on your team that wasn’t German, but who had Turkish parents and they players were giving him shit….you’d stop it because you wouldn’t want to lose a good players. Well do your job and do the same thing with a gay player you pussy. Although most likely the younger Germans don’t have the same attitude this fossile does.
merkin
he is absolutely right–there’s no place for Jews in soccer.
romeo
The guy’s just an annoying old fart with delusions of “authority.” Younger people will be making the decisions on this henceforth, not guys like him. (LOL just look at that face.)
Alfonzo
I would refer to him and an old guy who is out of touch. Unfortunately, many old guys who are out of touch make many decisions that affect the rest of us. Many of them are also elected officials.
We just have to learn to work around these people, rather than against them.