A great soccer talent, Stephen Bickford, tells how homophobia diminished his career

Being gay and playing a team sport can be incredibly frightening. You live in constant fear of having your teammates find out your secret, and in constant terror of what the consequences will be. All I wanted to do in life was play soccer. It had been my dream ever since I was 6 years old. I identified myself as a soccer player well before I knew I was gay. In a team sport, you rely on your teammates in order for you as an individual to be successful. If my teammates knew I was gay, I was sure that I’d be treated differently, and it could possibly jeopardize my success in the game.

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