Former NBA star John Amaechi has said that football will always remain "toxic" in its attitude towards gay players as long as Sepp Blatter is the president of the organisation.

The 43-year-old believes that Thomas Hitzlsperger's coming out only after his retirement shows that footballers are not being encouraged to be open about their homosexuality while they are active in his careers.

"I think it is a good thing Hitzlsperger has done, he is held in positive regard as a role model," he told The Mirror. "The timing is normal. If you work in an environment which you think is toxic to your health if you tell certain truths, then people will only ever be authentic when they leave.

"The truth is the people who run football are the ones creating this environment. The fans follow the implicit lack of breadth when it comes to issues of difference from the top.

"Blatter couldn't have a job anywhere else. In an equivalent corporate environment he would be out in a day. Neanderthals seem to be only able to hang on to power in sport."

Amaechi publicly came out as gay in February 2007.