Pro football coach comes out as gay as team sends support
Christian Dobrick (Instagram/christian.dobrick)
Football coach Christian Dobrick has come out to the public as gay, with his club St Pauli backing him all the way.
The 29-year-old has been part of the coaching team of the German Bundesliga club, based in Hamburg, since June last year.
Dobrick explained that he had known he was gay since he was a teenager. Hiding it at work during his adult life left him mentally exhausted.
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And it was his dream to coach a senior men’s team as his authentic self that prompted him to come out publicly.
He told Stern.de: “This charade has drained me too much. At my previously clubs in the youth academies, I kept my homosexuality a secret from the players. This went on for years. It was incredibly stressful. Now it’s over.”
Dobrick, who was born missing his left forearm, said he faced discrimination and now fears coming out could only cause more chatter.
“But I want to break the silence,” he said. “I can’t hide my disability, and I don’t want to hide my homosexuality any more.”
The coach has been in a relationship for four years, but he kept it a secret.
But during a Q&A with LGBTQ+ ally Jurgen Klopp, who previously managed Liverpool, something switched.
“He said something back then: ‘You can be whoever you want to be, but you have to stand for something.’ That got me thinking,” he explained. He added that Klopp’s authenticity is a “tremendous strength” which inspired him.
“I’m simply not authentic the moment I hide an important part of myself from my players, my colleagues, from the world,” he added.
And while he says he can’t be sure his players won’t look at him differently, he’s confident they will be mature as “they’re great people”.
Dobrick’s club St Pauli quickly responded to the news, saying: “We naturally stand behind him and his coming out. Because it’s really quite simple and should apple to everyone: Love whomever you want”
On Instagram, Dobrick shared a relieved post, writing: “Same coach as yesterday. Just a little lighter.”
Many in his comments congratulated him, with one writing: “A big step in the right direction!”
Football Pride UK commented: “Thank you for sharing your story, Christian!”
And someone else wrote: “Thank you for your courage. Maybe more players will dare to stand by you because of this.”
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