Liverpool legend Graeme Souness produced a brilliant speech regarding homophobia in society and particularly in football whilst on the panel for Sky Sports on Sunday.
With this week’s Premier League action in honour of the ‘Rainbow Laces’ campaign, in a bid to raise awareness for LGBTQ+ equality, Souness discussed the topic with Alex Scott and presenter Dave Jones.
Souness, a Scotland legend who starred for Middlesbrough, Liverpool, Sampdoria and Rangers, admitted that as a 67-year-old man he’s willing to ‘learn.’
Souness then described the impact that an ‘absolutely fascinating’ day out at Brighton has had on him, in which the Sky Sports pundit went on a pride walk and ‘learned a lot’.
The entire discussion can be watched here.
? "I teach my kids every morning you wake up try and learn something, I went to gay pride and it was fascinating. People will say he's saying that because he's sitting in the chair, I'm saying it because I mean it"
[Graeme Souness] ? pic.twitter.com/kVXwmVZgUA
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) December 6, 2020
“Yeah, I mean there’s seismic changes happening in society – and in football, I was just thinking how sad it would be if you’re really really passionate about something and you can’t go to it because you’re scared of abuse and you won’t be accepted.”
“Fair-play to the individuals that were on that segment there, I teach my kids, I say to them ‘every morning you wake up try and learn something’ – I’m a man in his 60s and I’m prepared still – I want to learn.”
“You think you get wiser when you get older, unfortunately you forget things (laughs) that you’ve tried to register in your head.”
“I went down to Brighton, I went on this walk, it was absolutely fascinating, the cross-section of people there, the atmosphere on the day – okay it was a nice sunny day – but I came away feeling so much richer for the experience.”
“People will look at me and the way I used to play football thinking ‘he’s saying that because he’s sitting in a chair’ – no, I’m saying that because I meant it.”
“I had a really really interesting days, I didn’t learn one or two things – I learned a lot – about myself as well.”
“I grew up in a generation where we were homophobic, the dressing rooms were homophobic, that’s a fact and no one can deny that – I’m sure it’s still maybe part and parcel today in some dressing rooms.”
“It’s going to be really really difficult for that individual, the brave person that’s going to come out one day, because there’s never been – as far as I know – a current professional come out and declare ‘I’m gay or bisexual’.”
It’s brilliant to see that Sky Sports have dedicated a segment of their Super Sunday coverage to discuss the topic of homophobia and that they have a legendary figure like Souness to offer his thoughts.
Souness didn’t hold back when he described that he grew up in ‘homophobic’ generation, so his passionate comments could have a massive impact in changing attitudes towards LGBTQ+.