Anonymous Soccer Player Fears for Safety If Outed

An anonymous German soccer player tells Fluter magazine that he won't come out of the closet because he's afraid for his safety.

PinkNews translated the story and reports that the player worries about being outed because he's the "model heterosexual player." He says quite plainly, "I would no longer be safe if my sexuality was to be made public."

The player describes using women friends as "beards" at public events and how being closeted has ruined his relationships with men.

Football players are being quite publicly urged to come out of the closet. The latest comes from German chancellor Angela Merkel, who said today, "I am of the opinion that anyone who sums up the strength and bravery -- and we have a long tradition of this behind us in politics -- should know that they live in a land where they have nothing to fear." Merkel's comments were made during the launch of the Go Your Own Way campaign for encouraging inclusion in sports and were reported by the AFP.

"The fact that there are still fears for some people for their own situation means we need to send out a clear message: You must not be afraid," she said.