Footballer Neville Southall labelled ‘gay’ after tweeting support for LGBT rights
The conversation quickly turned to tigers
Retired footballer Neville Southall has defended himself after he was called gay for supporting LGBT+ rights.
The former Everton player and Welsh International made headlines last October after he tweeted his support for LGBT+ people this people.
In the tweet, Southall wrote that LGBT+ people should be able to live without fearing any kind of discrimination.
If your gay straight trans or anything else you should be able to be what u want
Not live a lie
Without discrimination or prejudice— Neville Southall (@NevilleSouthall) October 12, 2017
It read: “If your gay straight trans or anything else you should be able to be what you want. Not live a lie. Without discrimination or prejudice”.
The tweet quickly went viral and amassed thousands of retweets and comments. However, it led people to question Southall’s own sexuality.
In a tweet posted last night, Southall wrote: “I find it funny that if I tweet something about LGBT stuff people ask me if I am gay but if I tweet about animals they never ask if I am a tiger. Why”.
I find it funny that if I tweet something about LGBT stuff people ask me if I am gay but if I tweet about animals they never ask if I am a tiger 🐅
Why— Neville Southall (@NevilleSouthall) January 14, 2018
The tweet drew several responses, one of whom thanked Southall for being a “great ally”.
One user asked Southall if he was tiger, to which he reponsed with: “On occassion”. The user then asked him, “Are you a gay tiger, Nev?” And he responded: “Tigers are very private animals.”
Rawr you can be my tiger 😘 rawr xd
— Cartlon Cole (@_CarltonCole9) January 14, 2018
Meanwhile, a parody Twitter account for former West Ham plater Cartlon Cole commented: “Rawr you can be my tiger”.