David Coote revealed that he was gay after being sacked by the PGMOL (Image: GETTY)
did more harm than good to the LGBT+ community by coming out as gay in the wake of his sacking, according to former England player Lianne Sanderson.
Coote was relieved of his duties by the PGMOL after he was shown appearing to make derogatory comments about and their former manager .
A second video, which was widely shared online, appeared to show the referee snorting white powder. He later gave an interview to in which he apologised for his actions.
In the same interview, Coote and suggested that a lifelong struggle with his sexuality led to some ‘really poor choices’.
Lianne Sanderson was not impressed with the timing of Coote’s announcement (Image: GETTY)
Sanderson, who became the first England women’s player to come out as gay in 2009, believes the timing of Coote’s announcement was far from ideal.
“The thing that has rubbed me up the wrong way is there are people out there with this opinion that people are using certain things to get further ahead in life now,” she told .
“[The timing of Coote coming out] has had the reverse impact on our community. I’ve had loads of people messaging me saying he is playing the ‘gay card’.
“I am constantly trying to break down barriers and I’ve had a lot of people message me from the community who feel the same. I am trying to show that I am good enough, being a woman of colour and being gay. I feel these situations knock it back a little bit.”
Sanderson admitted that while she felt ‘sorry’ for Coote, she did not agree with his decision to come out as gay in the same interview in which he apologised for his behaviour.
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“These two scenarios are completely separate,” she added. “Listen, it’s everyone’s prerogative if they want to come out. I’m a massive advocate for my community.
“I was one of the first ever England women’s players to come out, probably one of the first in the world. With this whole David Coote thing, I feel sorry for him. We all make mistakes and we all have skeletons in the closet.
“But the sexuality part and him taking cocaine and doing that video is not the same thing. We all have troubles in life but it does not condone bad behaviour.
“Did he really need to speak out [about his sexuality at that moment]? Were people waiting around for him to speak out? I don’t think they were and it’s almost made it worse.I think whoever it is advising him needs to do a better job.
“They advised him to do it in this way. I’m sure he is a nice guy but I am sure he does not feel better for doing that interview. I haven’t seen many good responses from it.”