On Wednesday, former Aston Villa, West Ham and Everton midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger came out in an interview with German newspaper Die Zeit. He may not be a household name to the non football fanatics, but he's still a pro player with a great career, playing for Italian side Lazio, as well as Stuttgart and Wolfsburg in his native Germany. He also played 52 games on the German national team, meaning he's certainly not a nobody. Hitzlsperger is only the fourth footballer to have revealed that he is gay. Swede Anton Hysen came out in March 2011 and former Leeds United man Robbie Rogers did so in February 2013, but it was the sad story of Justin Fashanu in 1998 that may have put footballers off revealing their sexuality to the public. Fashanu was the first professional footballer to come out in 1990, but took his own life eight years later after struggling to cope with attitudes on and off the pitch towards his sexuality. This proved that homosexuality was still a taboo in the game, and may still be. The retired 31 year old may be the only Premier League player to have made the brave decision, but it's almost impossible that he is the only homosexual player playing or to have played in the league, but how long will it be before we see another one come out? Hitzlsperger has the potential to be a pioneer for this taboo, and everyone should look up to his, as well as the following five athletes who he follows in the footsteps of to prove that this isn't a problem and that at the end of the day, he is just an athlete, not a "gay athlete"