The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the record. Please see the repository URL above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription.

In this article, we conduct a generational study of measuring progress towards the inclusion of homosexuality in professional sport. We accomplish this by interviewing an openly gay football player, Anton Hysén, in the year 2017, using the precise same questions about the relationship between his homosexuality and sport that were asked of the first openly gay professional footballer in 1992, Justin Fashanu. We thus measure difference in attitude according to the 25 years that have elapsed between the interviews. Our results emphasize two themes: First, the near-total acceptance of being gay within professional football today, compared to 25 years ago; and second, the social praise that is levied upon today's openly gay sportsmen, compared to the social stigma placed upon Fashanu.

A want or a need? Exploring the role of grassroots gay rugby teams in the context of inclusive masculinity There is a long history of researching the ways that the roles and conceptualisations of gender and sexuality are entwined within sport (Anderson 2005, 2011b). More recently, there has been an argument within sociology that homophobia is decreasing across Western sports, supposedly reflecting a decline of homophobia across society more generally and crucially, in a way that suggests cultural spaces have been opened up in which 'inclusive' conceptualisations of masculinity can be performed (Anderson, 2009, 2011, 2012). This project adds to these debates, by bringing inclusive masculinity theory into conversation with research that has begun to recognise the plurality of (particularly urban) gay spaces for the first time (Ghaziani, 2019). It does so by exploring the motivations behind gay men joining (what was at the time of writing), the most recently formed grassroots UK gay rugby team. The findings suggest that whilst players recognise more inclusive masculinities and a decline in homophobia across society more generally, it is in actual fact amongst the gay community itself that difficulties arise. Playing rugby in a gay-friendly team not only offers a safe space to perform inclusive masculinities, but to embody a more inclusive range of homosexualities as well. footballers wore rainbow laces in support of a campaign seeking to 'kick homophobia' out of football. In America, Major League Baseball teams, the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels promote LGBT+ issues through hosting 'Pride' events and public support for LGBT+ equality. In 2018, the New York Yankees announced the creation of the 'Yankee-Stonewall Scholarship Initiative 'providing $50,000 in academic scholarships to LGBTQ+ students. In addition, there has been an increase of high-profile heterosexual sportsmen such as rugby

This article looks at the evolution of retirement preparation for male professional rugby union athletes in the English Premiership. Rugby union became a professional sport in 1995 allowing rugby to become a stand-alone career. This alteration in employment structure resulted in stronger athletes, thus resulting in an increase of injury making a career in sports more uncertain. In an effort to address the growing concern of injury-induced retirement, the Rugby Players' Association's created the Benevolent Fund 1 in 2001. The Foundation was to provide assistance to players during times of injury and provide educational opportunities to assist in career transition. This article highlights how the transition to a professional game created the 'Quad-Lemma' of rugby injury and how the Rugby Players Association was created to address the welfare concerns of the new professional format of rugby union. Kanemasu and Molnar (2013) highlighted the lack of formal support mechanisms that 'ex' professional rugby union players have available to assist in career transition. While there are factual accounts for the need of such mechanisms (Mortimer 2016;FitzSimons 2003), there is a significant lack of academic research on the design and delivery of formal programs to assist in the career transition for the professional athlete. This lack of literature is directly linked to the limited amount of programmes that assist professional athletes during times of career transition. Anderson and Morris (2000) identify that the programmes that provide assistance are designed to assist the elite amateur athlete, while only a few are designed to address the needs of the professional athlete (Alfermann, 2000;Wylleman et al. 2001;Anderson and Morris 2000).Sports federations, national governing bodies, or independent groups who have a connection to the sport manage a majority of these programmes. The focus is to provide opportunities that establish life after sport by providing access to education, expand social networks and developing transferable skills. This article hopes to provide greater insight into the underdeveloped area of career transition research from an organizational perspective.Within the existing literature on career transition of the professional athlete, two dominant themes emerge. The 'voluntariness' of the athlete's retirement (Erpič, Wylleman, and Zupančič 2004;Anderson

The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the record. Please see the repository URL above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription.