harrowing tales

Rylan Clark tackles homophobia & soccer in his most personal project yet

By

Rylan Clark is one of the most famous TV personalities in Great Britain, thanks to his ubiquity and successful reality show past.

Now in the prime of his career, Clark doesn’t have to participate in projects that he doesn’t want to. But there was something about a documentary exploring the insidious relationship between homophobia and sports culture that spoke to the former X Factor contestant and Celebrity Big Brother winner.

“When the opportunity for the doc came along, my first thought was, ‘No, this isn’t for me. I don’t want to get involved in things I shouldn’t be getting involved in’,” he told The Athletic. ““Then I thought to myself, ‘f*ck that, I’m a West Ham fan, this would be a good thing for me to do’. I was a bit reluctant because I didn’t want it to seem like I was lecturing.”

A lifelong soccer fan, Clark says he’s been the victim of multiple homophobic attacks himself. There was one particularly harrowing episode at a playground, where Clark fractured his skill and was loaded onto an ambulance.

“There was this group of boys who weren’t our friends, and they weren’t very nice,” he says in the doc, via Yahoo! “I remember, just this hand coming on the back of my head, throwing me down to the floor from the platform, and just getting kicked in the head.”

“And the next full memory I have is being in the back of an ambulance, and waking up right here, driving past my house on the way to the hospital. I remember saying, ‘I live there, that’s my house,’ because I didn’t know what was going on, and the doctor said, ‘Lay down, lay down, your head is bleeding,'” said Clark.

The doc, Homophobia, Football and Me, features first-hand accounts from Clark and interviews with multiple high-profile Premier League players. One of those players, Rio Ferdinand, a former defender for West Ham, Leeds and Manchester United, infamously used a homophobic slur during a 2006 BBC interview.

Ferdinand addresses the incident, and talks about his personal evolution on the issue.

“If Rio were to say the word ‘f*ggot’ now, I’d be like, ‘You f*cking idiot, what the f*ck are you using that word for?,'” Clark told The Athletic. I don’t blame him for using some of the language he did back then because that was the ‘lad culture’. I asked Rio if he regretted what he said and his response was, ‘Of course I do, but at the time it wasn’t to be insulting.’”

Clark also speaks with Thomas Hitzlsperger, the only Premier League player to ever publicly come out as gay, as an active or retired player. Hitzlsperger came out in a German newspaper just months after he had retired.

He told Clark he didn’t fear blowback from fans, but rather, his own teammates.

“I always thought it was a fan thing but Thomas wasn’t worried about the fans, he was worried about his team-mates. That really took me back,” said Clark. He generally believed his teammates would have treated him differently and would have felt uncomfortable showering next to him. That shocked me.”

Related:

German soccer great Thomas Hitzlsperger reflects on coming out publicly 10 years later

Hitzlsperger is the only out player in Premier League history.

Hitzlsperger is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of his coming out, with his autobiography slated to hit bookshelves next month.

While there still isn’t an out player in the Premier League–and few in men’s pro soccer around the world–Hitzlsperger says there’s been progress. Specifically, the German World Cup star points to the popularity of LGBTQ+-specific fan clubs.

They are all over the Premier League, and pro soccer as a whole.

“Often people say to me, ‘Nothing has changed since I’ve come out. No other players or very few players have come out.’ I said, ‘That’s correct.’ But in terms of the fans and the awareness, so much has changed,” he explained in a recent interview. “Clubs really take it seriously now when they talk about diversity and inclusion, and that’s mainly to the fan clubs who have had a really huge voice.”

Clark, who received death threats as an X Factor contestant, says he forged the strength to keep going long ago. He would be willing to help any Premier League player thinking about coming out.

“I understand, if a Premier League player came out tomorrow, it would be on the front newspapers. But what shouldn’t be a big deal is people’s reactions,” he said. “If a gay or bisexual player is thinking of coming out, I’d happily be there to offer advice. Football is a game I love and it should be for everyone to enjoy.”

For years, there have been rumors about high-profile male soccer players coming out, but they never come to fruition. The only out pro gay soccer player in England right now is 22-year-old Jake Daniels.

There’s still an apparent culture of fear around the game.

The tragic story of Justin Fashanu plays a role in that. The only active player to ever come out in England’s top pro league (pre-Premier League), he committed suicide in 1998.

Fashanu is addressed in the documentary. Few people are better equipped to speak about the delicate topic than Clark, who says he contemplated ending his life following his divorce.

Two years later, Clark is in a better place. His work on this very personal documentary is his latest success.

It’s always powerful when someone of Clark’s profile sheds light on homophobia, wherever it is still pervasive.

Related:

Carl Nassib shares the heartwarming conversation he had with a gay NFL fan in line at Chipotle

The first active out gay player in NFL history says the man told him his announcement inspired him to come out.

Don't forget to share:

Discover more

Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...

We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock Queerty articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?

Once Monthly Annually

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated