»We need these role models« (nd-aktuell.de)

Handball player Lukas Krzikalla made headlines this week as the first active top athlete to come out as homosexual in one of the four largest German professional leagues. What was your first reaction to that?

First of all, I’m always happy about every coming out, whether in sports or any other area of ​​society. I find it incredibly important that a person has the feeling that he can go out with it and be free. His reaction afterwards shows that too, when he said that he was overwhelmed by the support and congratulations. But this story also shows how difficult it obviously is for athletes, since Krzikalla only made it through to it at the age of 28. This is one of the reasons why I think that this visibility is extremely important for others.

Why is such a step in sport seen as braver than in other areas of life?

Sport has not promoted this visibility for a long time, and has not even addressed it. There is still a lack of support, even if there have been positive signals over the past five years. However, changes are mostly symbolic. Let’s think of the European Football Championship last year, the game against Hungary and the debate about rainbow colors in the Munich Arena. Many from the sport took part with rainbow flags for the first time. But that is far from enough. There are still hardly any contact persons in sport. In football there is our contact point. But in other sports, including the DOSB, this is not yet sufficiently established. If there is no coming out, especially in the men’s area, then there will be no movement in the discussion. But I’m not just thinking about the athletes. For example, where are the coaches, managers and referees? Unfortunately, the situation took a turn for the worse.

Exactly what kind of support is missing?

First of all, the sport would have to position itself more clearly and become more active. And as already mentioned, there is a lack of contact persons and the financial means for work. Who can people from the sport turn to at the moment? In fact, many active athletes know this*internally, they do not know who they can turn to in their associations or how their associations stand on discrimination issues. It is therefore extremely important that these institutions position themselves clearly to ensure that everyone can participate in sport without discrimination. In football, we have had intensive discussions for more than ten years, and a lot has happened due to pressure from the community and fan initiatives. But here, too, the one contact point staffed by one person is still not enough for an association with over seven million members. I would like more support from the DFL. In the future, we will have contact persons across the board at regional and state level in football. This is closely linked to the introduction of the right to play for trans, inter and non-binary people in the DFB.

Who reports to your contact point? Homosexuals looking for advice on coming out or in the event of hostilities? Or rather clubs and officials to learn how to deal better with discrimination issues?

Essentially, the work consists of education and sensitization. Clubs and associations in particular approach us. They are looking for advice on how to become active or how to position themselves at all. Their representatives also ask how they can make the topic more visible. But we also offer workshops and help with networking and promote inclusive structures.

Why have there been coming-outs everywhere in society for decades, but so rarely in men’s sport?

You have to be more specific and talk about active professionals. They are the focus of most attention and often have the most to lose. Making it pro, no matter the sport, is hard-fought. You want to protect that. At least the lack of coming-outs is often interpreted in such a way that consultants, for example, want to protect their clients. In my opinion, this is a complete misinterpretation. I think that coming out mentally is extremely important for the athletes so that they can do competitive sports freely and in their complete identity. Otherwise, there is of course still an increase in alleged attributes of masculinity in men’s sport: fighting spirit, invulnerability, excessive hardness. This is a glorified image of masculinity, and at the same time gay is portrayed as soft and weak.

Statistically, there should be hundreds of homosexuals in the top leagues alone, but they don’t come out for a variety of reasons. But could they perhaps also avoid such an environment from the outset, precisely because those exaggerated ideals of masculinity prevail here?

It’s hard to say because we don’t have any examples. I can only report from queer sports. These clubs were founded more than 40 years ago because there was a lot of homophobia in classic sports clubs. Back then, it was more true that homosexual men were less likely to go to football. But I think that has changed, also because of the queer clubs and initiatives like the queer football fan clubs in the Bundesliga. Nevertheless, even today many young people are likely to ask themselves whether they would like to continue playing football actively, believing that they will have to hide there permanently. But football is certainly no longer as daunting as it was in the 80s and 90s.

Among top athletes, on the other hand, there are far more coming-outs and nobody takes offense at them.

But they had to fight hard for it. Women didn’t get any support in the past either. I know of examples in soccer from the 1990s where players were forbidden to hold hands during training. In Switzerland, an entire team was withdrawn because there was a fear that some women were lesbians and could make other girls in the club lesbian. Acceptance is therefore not a matter of course here either. Women have experienced the repression men fear. They were insulted as battle lesbians, or the prejudice prevailed that in football, for example, all women were lesbians anyway.

What motivates people to make their sexuality public? Why is that important? Straight people usually don’t talk about their sexual preferences.

They can also celebrate with their partnerships at club parties with complete freedom. It’s about much more than that. Far too often, homosexuality is narrowed down to sexual practices. How often have I heard the sentence: “I don’t care what they do in their own four walls.” It’s all about love, passion and partnership. Coming out for people who are so much in the public eye is never easy. Who can imagine that one’s own sexuality, one’s own partnership, is reported in public? However, it should be possible for everyone to post private photos at work or in the changing room locker and to share holiday memories on social media. Personally, I can’t even imagine what it’s like to hide your identity day after day, possibly over the course of a complete sports career, i.e. to deny partnerships for decades. None of this is a basis for a functioning relationship.

What effects can Lukas Krzikalla’s coming out have? Can there be a wave because many just didn’t want to be the first to be hit by the media? Or is the decision just as difficult?

First of all, it was an important step, first and foremost personally for Krzikalla. For everyone else, it will remain an individual decision that is not taken lightly. The coming out will definitely ensure visibility and will not be limited to handball, so it can be an encouragement for others. I know that the volleyball player Benjamin Patch from the Berlin Volleys was an important contact for the Australian footballer Joshua Cavallo after he came out before he dared to step into the public eye. Role models are necessary. We need these positive stories, but also the voices that tell about how great the suffering was before, so that we finally get the necessary encouragement and preferably not just when we come out.

Krzikalla has so far only reported positive reactions. On the other hand, ex-soccer player Philipp Lahm recently warned against coming out in football because he apparently fears hate speech. Is football really that different?

I am convinced that the same reactions would come in football. This is also shown by the last two coming-outs in England and Australia. In football, only the media reach is much larger. That makes it more difficult, especially internationally.

In just over six weeks, the men’s World Cup will start in Qatar, a country where coming out is likely to lead to arrest. Do you believe the organizers’ statements that gay players and supporters will also be welcome?

All queer organizers advise against traveling to Qatar, even during the World Cup. During a trip to Germany, the Emir of Qatar said that everyone was invited, but also that the cultures and laws of his country should be respected. I consider that a very open threat and nothing else. This World Cup is anyway, it has to be said, a farce. The supposed values ​​of the sport have been sold for this pompous tournament. The World Cup is therefore more political than a sporting event.