Christian Dobrick, a 29-year-old youth football coach at the German club FC St. Pauli, publicly came out as gay at the end of March. Born in Flensburg, he made his homosexuality public in interviews with German broadcasters RTL and ntv and the magazine Stern according to Stern.
The games of hide-and-seek were absolutely grueling
Dobrick told the German newspaper Tagesspiegel that the concealment took a heavy toll. 'The games of hide-and-seek were absolutely grueling,' he said, adding that he had internally prepared for the possibility of no longer being able to work as a coach. Dobrick added, 'After all, I am not a national team player.'
Prominent figures, including former German national coach Julian Nagelsmann, Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeneß, and German women's national team coach Christian Wück, spoke out in favor of a more open handling of homosexuality in football. Dobrick stated that the reactions from his personal environment and his players were entirely positive.
However, he also received homophobic insults on social media, including being called a 'dirty faggot who should find Jesus.' Of the online abusers, Dobrick said, 'You can't report everyone to the police.'
