20 Year Old Swedish Soccer Player Anton Hysen Comes Out; Only Second Active Player To Do So

The Canadian Press reports that 20 year old Anton Hysen, a Swedish soccer player has come out. Hysen, who plays for the second-tier Utsiktens BK, coached by his father, the former Liverpool defender Glenn Hysen, told the Swedish magazine Offside in an interview published Wednesday that he was aware the announcement could hold a potential negative impact on his career, saying that "There will always be people who can't tolerate gay people, just like there are people who can't tolerate immigrants,” adding that “a club might be interested in me but then the trainer finds out I’m gay and then they change their minds. But that’s their problem, not mine.” Hysen told the magazine that he came out in an attempt to demonstrate that being a gay footballer is no big deal. "I might not play in the top league, but I want to prove that there is no big deal if I'm a footballer and also gay," he told Offside magazine. "If I perform as a footballer, then I do not think it matters if I like men or women." England cricket player Steven Davies and Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas both recently came out in high profile cases, but there are currently no openly gay soccer players in any of England's top four divisions, a climate that angers Hysen. "It's totally sick when you think about it," he said. "It's so fucked up, everything. Where the hell is everyone else?" Hysen's brother Tobias, a Swedish international with 15 caps, backed his brother's decision, saying “Hopefully more people will have the courage to come out now after his brave decision."