Jump to content

Thomas Beattie


Recommended Posts

Don't remember this guy at all. 

 

2_Screen-Shot-2020-06-24-at-134430.jpg

A former footballer once on Kilmarnock’s books has become only the second British professional men’s player to come out.

Thomas Beattie did not feel that he could reveal he was gay when he began his career in Hull City’s youth team.

He crossed the Atlantic aged 19 to complete a ­football scholarship at Limestone College, in Gaffney, South Carolina.

After graduating, he spent time at Kilmarnock FC and Sandefjord Fotball in Norway before playing in Canada and Singapore. 

He then set up tech firms in the Far East.

Beattie, 33, is only the second British full-time men’s pro to come out, 30 years after ex-Norwich City and Hearts star Justin Fashanu in 1990.

Fashanu killed himself in 1998, aged 37. 

Former Aston Villa midfielder Thomas ­Hitzlsperger came out in 2014, a year after LA Galaxy’s Robbie Rogers.

Beattie told Advocate magazine: “I never thought about coming out while playing. I used football as a form of escapism.”

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/ex-kilmarnock-player-becomes-second-22247763

 

A SMALL detail on the footballer Thomas Beattie’s CV is that he had a very brief spell at Kilmarnock FC, but it’s significant that at Kilmarnock, and at Hull City, and in Norway, and the US, he didn’t tell a single person he was gay. Even now, we still haven’t dealt with the relationship between sexuality and football. It’s time we did.

But first: a quick summary of Thomas’s story. He grew up in Yorkshire and signed for Hull when he was 10. He might then have stayed on at Hull and had a great career there, but he left, and played in America, then came to Scotland where Kilmarnock wanted him, then went off to Canada and lots of other places and none of it ever felt very comfortable for him and a big part of the reason for that was his sexuality.

But now, this week, Thomas has gone public, making him only the second male professional footballer in the UK to reveal he’s gay. Without doubt, it’s an important step for sport and for LGBT equality, but because Thomas retired in 2015, it doesn’t actually change the fact that there still isn’t a single out gay man playing in the professional game in Britain. There was Justin Fashanu in the 90s, but that’s it.

The fact Thomas has waited until now to talk openly is understandable: when, who, and if gay people reveal their sexuality is up to them, but the problem is that the football industry was, and is, unwelcoming for gay men.

Watford’s captain Troy Deeney said the other day that every football team is likely to have a gay player. The fact that not a single one of them is public tells you everything you need to know.

The problem boils down to three parts: players, management, and the fans, and the pressure they are exerting, possibly unconsciously, on players to stay silent. Right across the game, people are making assumptions about what football is and what masculinity is and how the two interact and gay men are picking it up from a very early age.

Take the players first. Thomas Beattie says that when he signed as a youth professional with Hull, the senior players took him to a strip club as an initiation. The other players assumed Thomas would enjoy a strip club; they had assumed he was heterosexual.

He also says he heard gay slurs in the changing room, although he doesn’t think the players were being malicious – they were saying it because they assumed there was no one in the room to be hurt or offended.

Management is also a problem. Thomas says there’s still an assumption that a gay player would disrupt the team, in the same way that the British Army used to assume a gay soldier would lead to the army losing wars because it was too gay.

Thomas also believes that, because society generally is getting better, managers assume homophobia isn’t an issue in football either and therefore do nothing.

Then there’s the fans. Can we be confident that if Thomas had stayed on at Kilmarnock or Hull or any other team and had come out as gay that he wouldn’t have faced abuse from the fans?

Thomas says he felt like society was telling him the world of being gay and being a footballer were enemies and if you’re a football fan, it might be worth asking yourself what assumptions you make. Have you ever thought, for example, that if a man is gay he probably can’t kick a ball?

All of these assumptions played their part in making

Thomas unhappy and, although they don’t necessarily translate into outright abuse, they do the job just as well. You can’t be gay and a footballer. Being gay will be bad for the team. You’re a footballer therefore you love the ladies.

The solution is for everyone in the game to check their assumptions. Thomas puts it this way: be conscious of the environment you’re creating and whether it lets everyone feel included. When a new player joins the team, do not assume they’re straight. Maybe a few players will be offended by this, but gay players will feel more welcome and more able in the long run to go public.

img?regionguid=16f13c56-38ff-436b-b219-2ff1d56c2e38&scale=196&file=11302020062500000000001001&regionKey=XURSgBeJbn67SjHRHOfWJw%3d%3d

Everyone should also listen to what Thomas Beattie says about the longer term consequences of football failing to change. “Do not fear the day where a gay athlete is wearing the badge on your shirt,” he says. “Fear the prolonged period of time when there isn’t.” In other words, football could be missing out on great players, but even worse than that: as society and other sports progress, football is going to look more out-of-date on the issue of sexuality and – let’s just say it – homophobic.

http://theherald.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

 

 

Edited by skygod
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thomas Beattie
Personal information
Full name Thomas Edward Beattie
Date of birth 16 September 1986 (age 33)
Place of birth Goole, Yorkshire, England
Playing position(s) Attacking Midfielder
Youth career
  Hull City
2005–2007 Limestone College
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2009 Forest City London 38 (7)
2010–2011 London City 49 (15)
2012–2013 Ottawa Fury 23 (3)
2013–2014 Hougang United 23 (5)
2014–2015 Warriors 31 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:59, 5 August 2015 (UTC)

 

Must've been a trial. 07/08? Yes, I know. Wiki, Tinotenda etc.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Two stories from english players abroad. No mention of us, or Sandfjord.

'Beattie started his career at English side Hull City before moving to the US in 2005 to take up the opportunity of a football scholarship.

During his studies, he featured for Canadian sides Forest City London and London City SC.

After completing his studies, Beattie joined Ottawa Fury who played in America’s fourth tier, the US Premier Development League (PDL).'

https://englishplayersabroad.com/2015/01/13/2014-review-5-thomas-beattie/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, Fletch said:

I saw the article earlier and was asking the exact same question.

What is it with obscure footballers pretending to have played for us?

It’s really annoying. I sweated my guts out to get my 32 appearances and these nobodies come along and claim they’ve played for us and they haven’t even broke sweat. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Record continuing to use the ex-Kilmarnock player angle on the story:

Former Kilmarnock player says he couldn't have come out as gay during his football days

Thomas Beattie is only the second British male professional footballer to come out.

A former footballer who last week became only the second British male professional to come out as gay said he couldn’t have done it during his career.

Ex-Kilmarnock player Thomas Beattie followed fellow Englishman Justin Fashanu who revealed he was gay in 1990.

Beattie, 33, of Goole, Yorkshire, enjoyed a 10-year career in the US, Canada and Singapore as well as Rugby Park.

He told Lorraine Kelly on her TV show yesterday: “Football’s a very volatile sport. Not knowing the reception you’re going to get from different environments and countries and societies can be difficult.

“I think it’s important to have more visibility and awareness of different sexual orientations”

Beattie was apprehensive about coming out but said: “I’ve had a great reaction. It’s been mainly positive. Every now and again you get the odd comment, but I think on the whole I’ve been really overwhelmed by some of the messages … so I’m really delighted.

“I don’t assume myself or any other individual is going to change anything overnight. But definitely given confidence by the progress that's been made over the last week.”

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/former-scots-footballer-says-coming-22293107

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Prahakillie said:

Record continuing to use the ex-Kilmarnock player angle on the story:

Former Kilmarnock player says he couldn't have come out as gay during his football days

Thomas Beattie is only the second British male professional footballer to come out.

A former footballer who last week became only the second British male professional to come out as gay said he couldn’t have done it during his career.

Ex-Kilmarnock player Thomas Beattie followed fellow Englishman Justin Fashanu who revealed he was gay in 1990.

Beattie, 33, of Goole, Yorkshire, enjoyed a 10-year career in the US, Canada and Singapore as well as Rugby Park.

He told Lorraine Kelly on her TV show yesterday: “Football’s a very volatile sport. Not knowing the reception you’re going to get from different environments and countries and societies can be difficult.

“I think it’s important to have more visibility and awareness of different sexual orientations”

Beattie was apprehensive about coming out but said: “I’ve had a great reaction. It’s been mainly positive. Every now and again you get the odd comment, but I think on the whole I’ve been really overwhelmed by some of the messages … so I’m really delighted.

“I don’t assume myself or any other individual is going to change anything overnight. But definitely given confidence by the progress that's been made over the last week.”

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/former-scots-footballer-says-coming-22293107

 

 

I guess it scans better than 'possible ex trialist who, if he was here, probably got 20 minutes vs Auchinshoogle Rovers second XI'

At least he's not Tinotenda Chibharoing it to get a move.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...