Overview
- Uli Hoeneß said in an RTL/ntv interview that he sees no problem with homosexuality in football and that Bayern would support and defend any openly gay person at the club.
- His remarks followed St. Pauli U19 coach Christian Dobrick coming out and calling the men’s pro game a place where gay men are treated like “aliens.”
- Dobrick, 29, said pressure to present a straight life drains energy from football and he feared that being open could hurt his career prospects.
- Despite public endorsements from figures like Hoeneß, no active male professional in Germany’s top three leagues has come out publicly.
- Openness is more visible off the pitch and in women’s football, with executives such as Alexander Wehrle and ex-international Thomas Hitzlsperger out and women’s teams treating orientation as irrelevant.