Rio Ferdinand has opened up about his role in football’s homophobic culture while playing professionally, stressing how important it is for people to be “educated” about the issue.
TV and radio presenter Rylan Clarke, who first rose to fame on The X Factor in 2012, examines the rampant homophobia in the world of football, among fans and players, in a new documentary.
The 35-year-old, who grew up in Stepney, has always been a passionate West Ham fan. However, as outlined in his documentary Rylan: Homophobia, Football, and Me, some have strange doubts about the idea that he is passionate about the sport. As a homosexual.
metro.co.uk I recently had the chance to speak to Rio, 45, who appears on the TNT program as a former West Ham player, and he had a powerful one-on-one with Rylan, discussing how his attitude towards the LGBT+ community has changed over the years. Ta. .
The TNT Sports pundit explained that it was a no-brainer for him to appear in this documentary, because “as a human being, you go through hardships and situations that you had to overcome to get to where you are.” “Life” because you feel empathy for those who have done it.
The documentary shines a spotlight on the culture of professional football in the past, when homophobic slurs were commonplace in the locker room and went uncondemned.
“I can honestly say that I was part of that culture,” Rio said.
“If you go back to today, there’s a lot of that kind of cancel culture now. I don’t really believe in canceling people right away. I think we have to give people at least one chance to understand what has happened.”
The former England star continued: “I’m probably a good example in that sense.” I don’t think it was that intentional, it was just the culture that was there. Ignorance of not understanding the impact of engaging with certain slurs or certain cultures means not taking them into account. ”
Rio added that sometimes people need to interact with others from different communities to begin to form more “understanding”.
“That’s why I think it’s so important to have open and honest conversations on screen to move in the right direction,” he said.
A big turning point in the football star’s life came when his sister came out as gay.
“So it was a huge turning point for my family, even the culture of football, but also for my household,” said the original documentary, which explores racism, homophobia and mental health issues in football. said the creator of the series Tipping Point.
Reflecting on what his sister may have heard him say in the past, Rio continued: It wouldn’t have been good for people to hear that.
“The culture in the house I grew up in had to change.”
As for his own family life, Rio’s son Lorenz, 17, followed in his father’s footsteps with a football career and is currently goalkeeper for Brighton & Hove Albion’s Under-18 team.
When asked if he had ever spoken to Lorenz about homophobia in football, Rio replied: “Yes. “We have a lot of conversations about all kinds of topics. We’re a pretty open forum when we talk about feelings and things at the dinner table. Nice.
“I can’t give you a specific time. But definitely, once we talked about it, it definitely would have come up.”
Rio also shared an insight into what it was like to speak face-to-face with Rylan in the documentary, hearing about his experiences with homophobia in his life as a football and West Ham fan.
“I think it’s an important conversation to have. No one can ever walk into a stadium anywhere in the world and feel like they’re not good enough, not good enough, or substandard, or that they’re going to be discriminated against. “We shouldn’t be afraid,” he declared.
“I think there are also parallels with racism. A lot of the feelings you have at that time can be similar to other forms of discrimination. Again, the empathy is felt immediately. ”
Football may still have a ways to go until more players, current and former, feel safe coming out and feeling accepted and welcomed, but things look good in the future for Rio. He said he thought there was a possibility of moving in that direction. .
“I think when something outrageous happens, it needs to be punished appropriately. If people understand the punishment and the punishment fits the crime, I think that’s a good start. ” he outlined.
“But I think the starting point has to be education. I think educating people about the LGBTQ community is a really good starting point, because a lot of the ignorant don’t know or don’t understand. .I think it would pay off if we could get people to be better educated and understand about the community.The more likely it is that people will understand it more and stop making stupid comments. ”
“Rylan: Homophobia, Football, and Me” airs tonight at 10:45pm on TNT Sports 1 and is available to stream on discovery+.
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