Exactly 20 years ago today, Justin Fashanu stepped out of life. The Briton, who caused a furore at Norwich City in the early 1980s, was in 1990 the first football player who came out. With this coming-out, Fashanu paved the way for many other LGBT athletes, but his confession also led to a lot of misunderstanding and prejudice.
In 2017, we’ve seen a lot of courageous athletes; people who step up and great winners. Here are the best moments of the year according to the OFTW-team.
An anticlimax, missed opportunities, huge macho behavior and stubborn religious views. We surely have seen some very painful events this year.
When we started this project, we received various reactions. Many people were encouraging the project right away and agreed that it was about time for LGBTQI-athletes to gain more visibility. Others wondered whether this was really necessary. “Does it really matter whether an athlete is gay or trans?” they said. We understand this reaction, but we don’t fully agree. Allow us to explain why a project as Out For The Win is really necessary in current society.