Norwegian handball player Ola Hoftun Lillelien comes out as gay
Even in today's comparatively open society, outings from the male sports world often come across as "special." Some fans react with outrage, but most with tolerance and understanding. Now, handball player Ola Hoftun Lillelien is another male athlete who has come out as gay.
He, too, is likely to have given a lot of thought to how people will react.
"I will end up with a handsome boy"
Ola Hoftun Lillelien plays in the first division for Drammen HK, a city of about 100,000 people near Oslo. Before publicly coming out as gay on his Instagram profile, he went to friends, family and his teammates and told them that he probably wouldn't end up with a pretty girl, but rather a pretty boy.
The reactions of his immediate environment are said to have been exclusively positive. This was one of the reasons why he decided to take the next step and speak publicly about his sexual orientation.
For his "big outing", the 22-year-old handball player chose a fitting day.
Outing on a particularly solemn anniversary
The handball player used the 50th anniversary of the legalization of homosexuality in Norway to openly and naturally admit to himself.
To this end, he drew on, among other things, the quote from King Harald V. The latter expressed himself in 2016 as follows: "Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and boys and girls who love each other.". That's all it really takes for a clear - and admittedly heartwarming - statement.
His post on Instagram now has likes in the five-digit range. There are numerous positive comments under the picture, which are wonderful proof that homosexuality should now be taken for granted even among athletes. Ola Hoftun Lillelien is also very positively surprised by the fact that there has hardly been any hostility so far. He has received only "two negative messages" in response to his outing.
One user advised him to switch to the women's team and another criticized him for not being able to set an example. However, he was able to deal with this form of criticism and insults of this kind with confidence.
With thanks to LGBTQI+ activists and activists.
As part of his outing, Hoftun Lillelien thanked the many activists in the LGBTQI+ community. They are the only ones responsible for the fact that coming out nowadays no longer means a career end in sports. In addition, he also owes the numerous positive reactions to the work of these people.
He concluded by reiterating that sport is for everyone... no matter what sexuality the person belongs to. The only thing that counts in sports is the commitment and the performance.
Homosexuality in sports: unfortunately still a problem for many
Although Western society often wants to show a liberal worldview, especially with regard to homosexuality, in which homosexual and queer people also have a place, there are still areas where same-sex love is a taboo subject. The male sports world is definitely one of them. However, there are always male athletes who stand by their homosexuality and come out publicly. They are often celebrated by the community as real role models.
It remains to be seen how many more queer athletes will come out publicly about their sexuality in the future.