Mike Gerritsen comes out in the world of football

05 July 2021

Mike Gerritsen is an amateur football player, hardcore Go Ahead Eagles-fan, and homosexual.

For more than 26 years Mike Gerritsen had been hiding his homosexuality. Half a year ago he finally had his coming out. “Here I am, still the same Mike, only gay”.

He was questioning for a long time, if it was just a phase or if he was in fact gay. Last summer he started getting feelings for the first time for a man, then he knew, that he was in fact, homosexual.

From that moment on Mike was convinced that his homosexuality would not be accepted in the world of football, due to the stigma that football is seen as a men’s sport.

He has been playing at his boyhood club ‘Sv Helios’ since he was able to walk and at the moment trains the youth team.

“Football is my life, I was scared that I would feel abandoned by the club. This was absolutely not the case”

Before his coming out Mike wrote a letter to his parents and family wherein he explained that he was homosexual, he had no idea what kind of reaction to expect. After having read the letter to everyone there was no anger but relief, acceptance and mostly love.

He is an example. Not that he really wanted that, not that he dreamed of it, but simply because he is one of the first male footballers to come out so openly.

Mooi zondaginterview over de coming out van amateurvoetballer Mike Gerritsen 🏳️‍🌈https://t.co/Nm0ZkmRGoL

— BlauweFonds (@BlauweFonds) July 4, 2021