I ’ ve gotten some questions today about comments made by soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo after he was allegedly called a homosexual aspersion during a match over the weekend. It seems to be a routine occurrence with Ronaldo, like it has been with a handful of early male professional athletes over the years : An incident drives a sudden trickle or deluge of “ is he cheery ” questions .
The latest incident involves Ronaldo allegedly telling teammates he is a “ faggot, ” adding both an increased tied of speculation and a distasteful report of a newsworthiness history by an arrangement that could appear as outing the athlete .
We ’ ve heard the rumors for years. Ronaldo is dating a kickboxer. Opposing fans chanted a gay aspersion at him earlier this year. He designs and models men ’ randomness underwear ( as anyone with his body should ). He gets massaged by men. Whether it ’ s any or all of these, like mate athletes Tim Tebow, Troy Aikman and Aaron Rodgers, there is something in the zeitgeist that has led people to wonder loudly if Ronaldo is gay .
The episode over the weekend reflected and exacerbated that.

During a match Saturday night, Atletico Madrid player Koke and Ronaldo got into an affray on the field. Words were clearly exchanged and the two players literally butted heads ( not figuratively literally — literally ). Some television viewers have claimed Ronaldo even took a swing at Koke. They were both given yellow cards for the confrontation .
Oh, Ronaldo went on to score a hat flim-flam and Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid, 3-0 .
spanish radio station Cadena COPE claims to have overheard a conversation between Ronaldo and his teammates in the cabinet room after the match. Cadena COPE is one of the most popular radio stations in Spain .
According do Cadena COPE, Ronaldo told teammates that Koke called him a “ fagot ” on the pitch, and that is what sparked the confrontation. He allegedly told his teammates that responded to Koke, “ a faggot, yes. But a fat one. ” You can see Cadena COPE ’ s wax account of the conversation at The Sun .
To be clear, Ronaldo did not seem to be making these comments with any intention that they would be broadcast publicly. preferably, he was talking with his teammates in a manner that distinctly wasn ’ triiodothyronine intended to be digested publicly. Cadena COPE decided to partake the narrative publicly, so here we are.

The first key piece of the solid incident is the allegation that Koke called Ronaldo a gay aspersion. If he did, he needs to be suspended by La Liga. This kind of language can not be satisfactory on or off the flip, and a two-match abeyance is in order .
The second depart of this is obviously whether Ronaldo ’ s comments to his team reflect an understand on the team that he is cheery. We know there are homosexual professional male athletes who are out to teammates, friends and family members, but the populace is left in the dark .
The question is whether the private gossip by Ronaldo is a reflection that that ’ s the case here, or whether he was good spouting off to teammates about it and was mocking Koke ’ s slur by taking ownership of it .
People have wondered aloud for years about Ronaldo ’ s sexual orientation. To many, peculiarly in America, he fits the “ pretty boy ” gay “ expect ” with perfectly-quaffed haircloth, an adorable font and a rock human body that he ’ s not afraid to show off. Of course, to many others he looks like a lot of other young european straight guys. Regardless, whether it ’ s ignorance, pigeonhole or aspirant think, a distribute of rumors get spread about Ronaldo being cheery .
Either room, it ’ second pretty icky of the radio station to partake the transcript of what seems to have been a private conversation. They could have easily said that Ronaldo told teammates he was called a “ faggot ” without revealing he said he was one. To handle it this way with anyone is icky, but to do it with an athlete who is already the center of guess is peculiarly damage.

At this point I wish Ronaldo would precisely address the meditation. It ’ s obviously his option, but the stream of speculation and rumor is annoying at best. possibly he doesn ’ t do that because he likes it, or he ’ second concerned about looking homophobic. When others like Manti Teo have addressed rumors publicly, it hasn ’ t gone over well. Done right though — “ I ’ megabyte flattered by the speculation, but I ’ megabyte just not cheery ” — it can be respectful and well-received .
And as with any early athlete, if Ronaldo is in fact gay I hope he finds the courage to come out publicly and transform the sensing of gay athletes worldwide in an blink of an eye. Pretty boy or not, he is one of the best soccer players in the earth. Him being gay would surely open some eyes .
Either way it ’ s his choice. I barely hope he ’ mho able to find some peace in all the talk through one’s hat .