Leeann Dempster: Hibs chief executive says Scottish game 'ready for gay player'
- Published
Watch: 'There are obviously gay footballers, many of them'
Scottish football is ready for its first publicly gay player, Hibernian chief executive Leeann Dempster says.
Dempster, 48, has been in a civil partnership since 2007, having realised she was gay in her 20s when she met partner Tracey.
And she believes Scotland is now sufficiently tolerant and progressive to welcome a current player coming out.
"I am so proud to be from Scotland because I think it is one of the most progressive countries," she said.
"You are always going to get people who revert - you are never going to get rid of these people. But the vast majority, because of things like equal marriage and the progressive laws here, would be fine.
"There are obviously gay footballers, many of them. One in 10 of the population [is gay], something like that. Well, there are 11 players on the field..."
Justin Fashanu is the only openly gay footballer to have played in Scotland's senior men's leagues, having appeared 16 games for Airdrie and a further 11 times for Hearts in 1993 and 1994. He took his own life in 1998.
However, while Dempster acknowledges there would nowadays be "a few bumps" for any player who might disclose their homosexuality, she says her life has been "enriched" since feeling able to talk about it.
"It would be brave," she says. "I've not really talked about it in the media but recently we lost someone and it made me think about my responsibility as someone who has exposure.
"There will be people out there finding it difficult reconciling what they are feeling and it's incumbent on people like me to say 'follow your instinct and trust in civic society because most folk are good'."
PFA Scotland chief executive Fraser Wishart suggested that any player wishing to "come out" would receive a "strong level of support" from team-mates and fellow professionals in dealing "with the intense public and media scrutiny they would face".
"There is no doubt that attitudes have changed in recent years and an openly gay footballer would absolutely be accepted by his colleagues in the dressing-room - why wouldn't they?" he said.
However, Wishart thought there would be "the possibility of the abuse" from supporters "given what has happened on the terraces this season".
'Coming out is a very personal experience'
Hugh Torrance, executive director of LEAP Sports Scotland, on BBC Radio Scotland
It's important to remember we're talking about the men's professional game. We already have many 'out' players in the women's game and at grassroots levels across the country.
Coming out is a very personal experience. As Leanne says, there are still likely to be a 'few bumps along the road' and this is untested as we haven't had a player come out yet.
It's difficult to know if some of the barriers to this are real or are they perceptions but the research continues to show that the high majority of people still believe there is still an issue with homophobia in sport which is higher in football.