A Footballer in Drag: Oh No He Did NOT!

source: naijabitchin.blogspot.com

Imagine my surprise at finding a picture of the well-known and highly esteemed Ghanaian footballer Stephen Appiah in what seems to be drag, a few hours after reading the post on Queer Landia about a plea for gay footballers/soccer players to come out of the closet. Maybe the picture is photoshopped and in all honesty it could be horseplay since it’s not uncommon to find straight guys in Ghana dressing up as women complete with wigs and makeup for fun. Regardless of its origin, the picture has certainly made my day. I wonder though if he really plays for a different sort of Ghana team…

 

A Hero Gone Too Soon

source: BBC News

Justin Fashanu, a footballer from 1978-1997, was the first black footballer to be transferred for £1million. He was also the first (and only) footballer in the English Premiership to “come out” (in 1990) even though team mates apparently  knew that he was gay. This happened after he heard a newspaper was going to reveal his sexual orientation and he wanted to beat them to it. However his career was marred by this event and he did not play professional football for six years afterwards (although he had a knee injury during that period). He finally committed suicide in May 1998 after the news broke that he was wanted for questioning by the police regarding a case of sexual assault on a seventeen year old male.