Just over four months after coming out as a gay soccer coach, St. Pauli’s youth trainer Christian Dobrick has opened up about the fears he initially faced regarding potential professional consequences. “I’m living now under my own terms, for me and not for others anymore. But beforehand I had a lot of questions: Is this the end of my career? Is my sexuality the glass ceiling? I prepared myself inwardly for the possibility that I might not be able to work as a coach anymore,” Dobrick told the Tagesspiegel (paid article).
In late March, Dobrick publicly revealed his homosexuality (TheColu.mn reported). Prominent soccer figures such as former national team coach Julian Nagelsmann, Bayern Munich’s honorary president Uli Hoeneß, and women’s national coach Christian Wück subsequently spoke out in favor of a more open attitude toward homosexuality in soccer (TheColu.mn reported).
Hate messages on social media
“I didn’t expect it to become this big. I thought it would be a single news item and then it would be reported. But the flood of reactions surprised me. After all, I’m not a national team player,” Dobrick recalled. Reactions from his personal circle and from his players have been consistently positive.
“But of course there are the other voices as well. I was insulted on occasion, for example as ‘a dirty faggot who should find Jesus,’” the coach said, describing hate messages he received on social media. “You can’t report every single one to the authorities. I don’t want to waste time on people like that.”
The hiding games were absolutely exhausting
For him, coming out was about gaining quality of life. “The hiding games were absolutely exhausting. You’re constantly thinking: What am I doing? When should I do it? Whom should I tell what? If you’re 29 and still have a few years ahead in soccer, you have to ask yourself whether this is the kind of life you want to lead in the long run,” the native of Flensburg explained.
Homosexuality remains a taboo topic in men’s professional soccer, even though fan representatives in particular advocate for a more open approach. In the top three German leagues, there has yet to be an active professional who has come out. In women’s soccer, by contrast, a player’s sexual orientation has long ceased to matter.
