Former NBA player John Amaechi has said that he is in contact with gay footballers who cannot publicly say they are gay.
Amaechi, who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz during the 1990s and 2000s, said he was in contact with gay footballers who were reluctant to come out.
“If someone is using 1% of their energy to stop themselves being who they are, that is the difference between being good and being great,” said the Briton.
Amaechi was addressing the Culture, Media and Sport Committee after a recent BBC Radio 5 live survey found 82 per cent of sports fans in England, Wales and Scotland would have no issue with their club signing a gay player.
However, 8 per cent of football fans said they would stop watching their team.
MPs were told football needed to do more to tackle homophobia.
Amaechi, 45, criticised the game’s leaders and “troglodyte men” for the “toxic atmosphere of homophobia” in the sport and urging for tougher sanctions.
“Football has the money and resources to do what it wants but it purposefully does nothing,” he said.
“I have spoken to Premier League football players who do not think their club would be supportive.”
