Totty of the Day

Nicknamed "The Hammer" - because of his powerful left foot, apparently; no other (ahem!) reason - former Aston Villa, Everton, West Ham and German national footballer Thomas Hitzlsperger has become one of only a few (and certainly the most prominent, given the fact he played for his country 52 times) professionals in the game to publicly come out as gay.

He said today in an interview with newspaper Die Zeit:

"I'm coming out about my homosexuality because I want to move the discussion about homosexuality among professional sportspeople forwards.

"In England, Italy and Germany being a homosexual is no big thing, at least not in the dressing room.

"I was never ashamed of being who I am but it was not always easy to sit on a table with 20 young men and listen to jokes about gays. You let them get on with it as long as the jokes are somewhat funny and not too insulting.

"Being gay is a topic that is 'ignored' in football and not 'a serious topic in the changing room'. Fighting spirit, passion and winning mentality are."

I am no sports fan, but this is really good news in the "macho" world of football - traditionally associated with so much ignorance and boorish behaviour amongst its fans. Tolerance and acceptance can only be learned when their "heroes" tell it like it is.

Football vs Homophobia