British soccer player Ruben Loftus-Cheek is tired of gay rumors.
The Chelsea F.C. midfielder has heard several reports and rumors that he came out to his teammates as gay, according to Towleroad. But, he says that is simply not true.
The rumor apparently started on Twitter. According to UK news site JOE, a Twitter account under the name “Eye Sports News” spread the rumor around. It even created fake quotes from teammate Eden Hazard saying the team was surprised by the news.
The professional athlete then tweeted out that he fully supports any player that’s considering coming out, but confirmed that he’s not one of them.
Currently, there are only two openly gay soccer/football players. Minnesota United’s Collin Martin who came out last year, and Sweden’s Anton Hysen.
In addition, two other athletes came out but are no longer actively playing. Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsper, who came out after retiring. And former LA Galaxy player Robbie Rogers, who retired last year.
French player Olivier Giroud also shared last November that he thinks the sport is too hostile for closeted players to come out.
"In the dressing room, there is a lot of testosterone, teasing and communal showers," Giroud said. "It is delicate but that is how it is.”
"I can understand the distress and the difficulty for guys to come out — it is a real challenge after working on yourself for years."
