A small big step, a signal for the future. English referee James Adcock has come out. Brave choice, in a hypocritical world like that of football. «They are gay, everyone knows it: colleagues and players. Time to reiterate it. Many said they were proud of me, the truth is that there are still many barriers to break down ». Adcock is 37, a solid career who has seen him referee more than 500 games, currently directs the matches of the English Championship (our Serie B) and is often designated as fourth man in the Premier League.
In short: he is an emerging referee, projected towards a future as a protagonist.
He is aware that his coming out may hinder his path, but at the same time he knows with certainty that his words will be of help to the many who – on the football planet – keep their sexual identity hidden. «Declaring yourself gay or not declaring yourself gay is a choice you have to make as a person, not as a referee. Treat me like you would treat anyone else. You are there as a fan, player or manager and you judge me on my performances. This is what I am judged on. I am not a referee because I am gay, but only because I am a referee ».
The truth is that in the world of football – and of sport in general – many are hiding. “Homosexuality is a taboo, footballers are afraid of insults,” said the Swede Albin Ekdal, Sampdoria midfielder, about a year ago in a video message to the European Parliament. He was one of the few – Ekdal – to come out into the open, like fellow footballer Elena Linari who explained: “Sportsmen cover their private lives to avoid unleashing prejudices”. Not later than ten years ago, the then president of the Football Association, Damiano Tommasi, judged coming out “inadvisable” and denied having met gay colleagues: “Maybe they were there, but I didn’t notice it.”
The fact that in none of the five major leagues in Europe, England, Germany, Spain, France and Italy, is there not even an avowedly homosexual footballer is out of place with statistics around the world. But so be it. Former Roma and Inter midfielder Radja Nainggolan recently stated that «it is not convenient for a footballer to declare himself gay, his career would end there at that moment».
Yet in other less dusty contexts than football, something is moving in the direction of civilization. In recent years there has been no shortage of athletes who have not been afraid of prejudice and have come out. From the multi-medal British diver Tom Daley to Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy, from NFL player Michael Sam to NBA player Jason Collins, from figure skating star Adam Rippon to boxer Orlando Cruz: all in the wake of two “Pioneers” in the struggle for civil rights such as Greg Louganis and Martina Navratilova who – in even more complicated years – explained with their example that in sport and in life one can be happy and successful, regardless of one’s sexual orientation.
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