Sports Announcer Charges Out of the Closet

Mark McAdams has been an announcer for the UK channel Sky Sports for the better part of a decade. He declares himself as passionate about soccer as any avid fan. And, he's told Gay Times magazine in a recent interview, he's gay -- and always has been.

McAdams told Gay Times that he was bullied in school for being gay and noted, "Only gay people will ever understand the trauma you go through about accepting your sexuality."

But SportsMole.com reported on Sept. 1 that McAdams was also plainspoken in his conviction that his natural romantic attraction to other men does not in any way make him less of a man, himself: "I watch football, I watch the darts, I sit around and scratch my bollocks and piss on the toilet seat," he said in the interview. "And I'm gay."

McAdams also reckons that he's one of a kind. "I don't know of any other gay sports reporters," the SportsMole article quoted him as telling Gay Times. "There's nothing to compare this to."

Because McAdams is British, he refers to soccer as "football," a usage that some Americans might find puzzling, especially in the wake of the still-unfolding Michael Sam drama. Sam, touted as the first openly gay NFL draft pick, was ballyhooed as a major step forward for gay athletes, and then waived by the St. Louis Rams. The team said that Sam's sexuality had nothing to do with him being dropped, but gay commentators have reacted skeptically, particularly since no other team has stepped forward to give Sam a professional home in the NFL.

More and more gay pro athletes have emerged from the closet in recent years. But a sense that gays are somehow less masculine that straights lingers, as do proclamations from some heterosexual jocks whose protestations sometimes border on too much.

Still, straight athletes are finding it increasingly easy, and even chic, to stand up for their gay brethren. Indeed, one pro rugby player, Ben Cohen, went so far as to start an anti-bullying charity by that very name -- the StandUp Foundation.

Athletes stateside have also spoken up for marriage equality and full legal rights for LGBTs. While many athletes find their public pro-equality stances do not harm their careers, there is still the occasional exception: Chris Kluwe, formerly of Minnesota Vikings, remains steadfast in his claim that it was his public support for marriage equality that led directly to his being dropped by that team.

Kluwe insists that though his stance cost him his NFL career, it was worth it to him personally to have acted on his beliefs. Kluwe and the Vikings settled out of court two weeks ago, with the Vikings agreeing to donate a substantial sum to five GLBT charities. Kluwe accepted no money for himself in the deal.

McAdams addressed homophobia in sports, noting that in Britain no top-level soccer player has, as yet, come out, and attributing this to "the fear... and the football clubs know billions and billions of pounds are at stake."

SportsMole noted, "On the pitch, former Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger remains the only footballer connected with the top flight to have come out as gay." The German athlete only came out earlier this year, however, after retiring from professional soccer.