News - In an interview to be broadcast on radio 5 live, actor Sir Ian McKellen criticised the sports world for being too "slow" on the issue of gay rights.
This comes despite the recent outings of rugby player Gareth Thomas and hurler Donal Og Cusack, who both said they had postive support from friends and family.
McKellen said: "The sports world should be ashamed of itself. It's full of all these macho men and strong women who go out and dedicate their lives..."
"They're absolutely admirable people in many senses – but when it comes to the business of simply being honest about who they are, some of them become little shrinking violets because they're afraid, probably, of being booed from the terraces, and that must be a horrible experience and shame on people who do it."
"But it ain't going to stop someone being a fantastic footballer because they're honest about their private lives, is it? I don't believe so and the world is changing and sport, I'm afraid, is very slow to catch up."
