I chose my words carefully when addressing Jordan Henderson on Twitter last week. The thought of him moving to Saudi Arabia didn’t feel right from the start but I wanted to comment when the move became official. He supported the fight against homophobia in the past and people feel betrayed by his move to a country where same-sex relationships are illegal and can result in the death penalty. It was not about criticising the people of Saudi Arabia or criticising players for going there. It is their decision and they are free to move wherever they want. But what Henderson has done is contrary to what he has said and makes me believe his allyship was not genuine.
He wanted to support a minority, the LGBTQ+ community, and now he’s getting paid by a state that wouldn’t even show the captain’s armband he wore, because the rainbow symbol might have upset people. That is very difficult for me to understand. He made a conscious decision several years ago to be supportive of the LGBTQ+ community and that was great at the time. It was fantastic to have such a high‑profile player speak up for the community. It is one thing me speaking up – I’m out publicly and feel it’s my responsibility to speak up for a community I am part of – but when you have a straight ally such as him it is more powerful because nobody would expect it of him in the first place.
