German Soccer Player Suspended Over Homophobic Incident
As reported by BILD and Die Welt,pro-soccer player Kevin Behren along with other team members were asked to sign various memorabilia items. One of these items included a rainbow jersey. Allegedly, Behrens refused to sign eventually saying "I won't sign that gay shit." The club reacted swiftly by suspending him along with issuing a statement regarding the incident.
According to the New York Times, the club stated "During an internal meeting, statements were made that were not in line with VfL Wolfsburg's stance. The incident was immediately dealt with internally. VfL Wolfsburg stresses that it is aware of its social responsibility."
According to a "diversity" page on the Wolfsburg website, initiatives regarding diversity are an important part of the Vfl club. Team members are often seen wearing rainbow armbands along with the shop also selling items with iterations of the logo in rainbow colors.
Behren has now issued an apology to BILD saying "My spontaneous comments were absolutely not OK. I would like to apologize for that. The issue was clearly discussed internally and I ask for your understanding that I do not want to comment on it any further."
On the other side of the world, famously out and proud Australian soccer player Josh Cavallo cheekily weighed in on the situation. A photo of a rainbow armband was posted by a different Bundesliga side, St Pauli, which translated to English reads "We love gay shit." Cavallo simply replied "Best thing I've ever seen."