Football - UN calls on gay World Cup players to declare sexuality - Polidicks

[QUOTE]Gay soccer players at the World Cup in Brazil should declare their sexuality to help make gays and lesbians accepted around the world, U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay said on Monday. "I encourage players, sports people to declare their sexual orientation without fear," she told reporters in Geneva. "That's the only way they will find the right to sexual orientation accepted. They are role models, it's important to send this message to their fans as well," Pillay said, adding that it was "a shame, in this day and age", that people "had to hide who they really are". She was speaking after addressing a meeting on equality in sports on the sidelines of the U.N. Human Rights Council, where she also spoke out against discrimination on the grounds of race or disability. "There's an increasing realisation that combatting discrimination requires more than superficial measures that do not change attitudes or address the root causes of inequality," she told the meeting. Pillay also warned governments that bid for major sporting competitions that they needed to give far more thought to how their bid would affect human rights.[/QUOTE] [url]https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/football-un-calls-gay-world-cup-players-declare-135643657--sow.html[/url]

It would probably work rather well in countries mad about football, although you're likely to also have football players reacting negatively to such proclamations and therefore also reinforcing prejudice amongst their fans. Would be rather amusing to see deeply religious football-crazy countries spontaneously combust, though. Might even give England a better chance to win.

Easier said than done really; the macho, laddish culture within the sport has to be completely broken down before players can come out and declare their sexuality.

Why would they think this is a good idea?

[QUOTE=WeekendWarrior;45120555]Easier said than done really; the macho, laddish culture within the sport has to be completely broken down before players can come out and declare their sexuality.[/QUOTE] You guys just need to adopt the American attitude towards the sport.

[QUOTE=Venezuelan;45120713]You guys just need to adopt the American attitude towards the sport.[/QUOTE] You mean by calling it soccer and not caring about it?

[QUOTE=A B.A. Survivor;45120757]You mean by calling it soccer and not caring about it?[/QUOTE] Yes

[QUOTE=WeekendWarrior;45120555]Easier said than done really; the macho, laddish culture within the sport has to be completely broken down before players can come out and declare their sexuality.[/QUOTE] But nothing more manly than 2 men grapple each other naked.

Why is the players sexuality important? Who cares if they fuck butts or vaginas or both. Last year some german ex football professional came out that he was gay, but jokes on him, nobody cared.

[QUOTE=Impact1986;45123300]Why is the players sexuality important? Who cares if they fuck butts or vaginas or both. Last year some german ex football professional came out that he was gay, but jokes on him, nobody cared.[/QUOTE] Role models and representation are incredibly important to the LGBT+ youth, it gives them someone to both look up to and identify with.

[QUOTE=Amiga OS;45123684]That's the point, it really shouldn't be a big deal, but unfortunately it is.[/QUOTE] But it isn't a big deal, which is why nobody cared [editline]16th June 2014[/editline] Maybe it is because I live in germany and never seen any homophobia. [url]http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jan/08/thomas-hitzlsperger-gay-announces-homosexual[/url] Have you heard of Thomas Hitzlsperger? He was a professional football player, and is gay. Even he said that homosexuality isn't a big thing in football sports. [QUOTE]"In England, Italy and Germany being a homosexual is no big thing, at least not in the dressing room," he said, before adding: "I was never ashamed of being who I am but it was not always easy to sit on a table with 20 young men and listen to jokes about gays. You let them get on with it as long as the jokes are somewhat funny and not too insulting.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Impact1986;45123976]But it isn't a big deal, which is why nobody cared [editline]16th June 2014[/editline] Maybe it is because I live in germany and never seen any homophobia. [url]http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jan/08/thomas-hitzlsperger-gay-announces-homosexual[/url] Have you heard of Thomas Hitzlsperger? He was a professional football player, and is gay. Even he said that homosexuality isn't a big thing in football sports.[/QUOTE] [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Fashanu[/url]

[QUOTE=WeekendWarrior;45124163][url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Fashanu[/url][/QUOTE] [QUOTE]Although he claimed that he was generally well accepted by his fellow players, he freely admitted that they would often joke maliciously about his sexual orientation, and he also became the target of constant crowd abuse because of it.[/QUOTE] And that was 1990 when he came out. Wasn't that homophobic back then. And now it is 2014 and an even less homophobic time.

[QUOTE=Impact1986;45124429]And that was 1990 when he came out. Wasn't that homophobic back then. And now it is 2014 and an even less homophobic time.[/QUOTE] The legacy of Justin Fashanu still reaches into 2014 though, it's still used as a precedent of how homophobia can affect sportsmen, this is still relatively fresh in the memory. [editline]16th June 2014[/editline] This is about creating a comfortable environment for athletes.

[QUOTE=WeekendWarrior;45124529]The legacy of Justin Fashanu still reaches into 2014 though, it's still used as a precedent of how homophobia can affect sportsmen, this is still relatively fresh in the memory. [editline]16th June 2014[/editline] This is about creating a comfortable environment for athletes.[/QUOTE] Where is this homophobia nowadays?

[QUOTE=Impact1986;45124605]Where is this homophobia nowadays?[/QUOTE] In the stands and in the culture.

[QUOTE=Impact1986;45124605]Where is this homophobia nowadays?[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/25/homophobia-uk-survey[/url]

[QUOTE=WeekendWarrior;45124619]In the stands and in the culture.[/QUOTE] Give me some examples of homophobia from Britain for example. Even a gay footballer said that [QUOTE]"In England, Italy and Germany being a homosexual is no big thing, at least not in the dressing room," he said, before adding: "I was never ashamed of being who I am but it was not always easy to sit on a table with 20 young men and listen to jokes about gays. You let them get on with it as long as the jokes are somewhat funny and not too insulting.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Impact1986;45124685]Give me some examples of homophobia from Britain for example. Even a gay footballer said that[/QUOTE] In my time in the stands I've encountered my fair share of fans who use term gay as a pejorative: "get up you poofter", "x player is a fucking gay", the evergreen chant of "oh the [team name]s are gay". Even outside of the stadium there's a lot of homophobia, people making jokes that they perceive to be fine but are actually discriminatory, I was on a coaching course and there were a few niggling remarks about the female coaches, "she looks like a dyke" etc. It's silly to think that just because the situation has slightly improved it doesn't need attention. That's why organisations like Stonewall are cooperating with FAs and clubs now.

[QUOTE=joes33431;45124680][url]http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/25/homophobia-uk-survey[/url][/QUOTE] [QUOTE]Gay in Britain, a report by the campaign group Stonewall, suggests that large numbers of Britain's 3.7 million gay people [B]fear[/B] they will be discriminated against if they stand for political office, seek to foster a child or look to become a magistrate. Three in five of those questioned in the YouGov poll of just over 2,000 gay people said they [B]expected[/B] their child would be bullied in primary school if it were known they had gay parents; more than four in five [B]expected[/B] the same if they had a child in secondary school. Seven in 10 people [B]expected[/B] to face barriers because of their sexual orientation if they applied to become a school governor. Despite the move to legalise gay marriage, the survey also suggests the Conservative party still has some way to go in winning the support of gay, bisexual and lesbian people. Three-quarters [B]think[/B] they would face barriers from the Tories if they wanted to stand as an MP, while more than a third would [B]expect[/B] to face barriers from the Labour party and more than a quarter from the Lib Dems. Both the coalition government and recent Labour administrations have done much to advance the cause of gay equality, but it appears many gay people [B]fear[/B] societal attitudes lag behind parliament. "Completion of our work on marriage means that one strand of Stonewall's domestic focus – legislative equality – is effectively complete," said Stonewall chief executive Ben Summerskill. "But this polling demonstrates starkly that changing laws doesn't change attitudes and lives overnight." [B]Discrimination hit the headlines again last week when a driver with the London minicab firm Addison Lee was suspended while he was investigated for allegedly calling a gay couple "dirty" and kicking them out of his cab after they held hands.[/B] It warns that the criminal justice system presents barriers for lesbian, gay and bisexual people who [B]fear[/B] they will be treated worse than their heterosexual counterparts, whether they are reporting crimes, suspected of committing crimes or dealing with police and prison staff. Almost six in 10 gay and bisexual men and almost half of lesbian and bisexual women [B]believe[/B] they would be treated worse by a prison officer than a heterosexual person. Eight in 10 lesbian, gay and bisexual people would [B]expect[/B] to face barriers if they applied to become foster parents. Almost half [B]expected[/B] to be treated worse than a heterosexual person by an adoption agency if they want to adopt a child. Stonewall said its report showed that, in contrast to claims made by anti-gay campaigners, there is [B]overwhelming support[/B] among gay people for equal marriage. Nine in 10 lesbian, gay and bisexual people support the government's recent moves to extend civil marriage to same-sex couples. Its survey found more than six in 10 gay and bisexual men and four in 10 lesbians and bisexual women [B]expect[/B] to experience homophobia if they take part in a team sport and are open about their sexuality. And almost half think that television's portrayal of lesbian, gay and bisexual people is unrealistic.[/QUOTE] This is all about what homosexual people think, but not what actually happens. The taxi cab driver was suspended for the incident, and may be fired after investigations might turn up that he really did it. And there is an overwhelming support for gay marriage, so I don't think that culture is really homophobic. Otherwise gay marriage wouldn't become a reality. [editline]16th June 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=WeekendWarrior;45124809]In my time in the stands I've encountered my fair share of fans who use term gay as a pejorative: "get up you poofter", "x player is a fucking gay", the evergreen chant of "oh the [team name]s are gay". Even outside of the stadium there's a lot of homophobia, people making jokes that they perceive to be fine but are actually discriminatory, I was on a coaching course and there were a few niggling remarks about the female coaches, "she looks like a dyke" etc. It's silly to think that just because the situation has slightly improved it doesn't need attention. That's why organisations like Stonewall are cooperating with FAs and clubs now.[/QUOTE] Anecdotal evidence

Are you trying to insinuate that homophobia doesn't exist?

I've only ever been on the receiving side of homophobia a couple times, sure it's never a nice thing, but it isn't that much of a problem in the western cultures (from what I've experienced)

[QUOTE=Impact1986;45124605]Where is this homophobia nowadays?[/QUOTE] Most of continental Africa, most of the Pacific Islands (Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, etc). Degrees of central and South America. Rural America. Rural Europe. Eastern Europe. The Mediterranean. The middle east. The Maghreb. The Stan states. The subcontinent of India. Pretty much most of the world. Acceptance of Homosexuality is pretty much a post 1970s concept and it only really branched out to be semi accepted within the mid 2000's in Europe and the Americas. It's still a big deal even there and Marriage is only half accepted; that shows something in its own.

[QUOTE=Impact1986;45124850]This is all about what homosexual people think, but not what actually happens. The taxi cab driver was suspended for the incident, and may be fired after investigations might turn up that he really did it. And there is an overwhelming support for gay marriage, so I don't think that culture is really homophobic. Otherwise gay marriage wouldn't become a reality.[/QUOTE] you didn't read the source. [QUOTE]Stonewall said its report showed that, [B]in contrast to [I]claims made by anti-gay campaigners[/I][/B], there is [B]overwhelming support [U][I]among gay people[/I][/U][/B] for equal marriage. Nine in 10 lesbian, gay and bisexual people support the government's recent moves to extend civil marriage to same-sex couples.[/QUOTE]

[video=youtube;5xLn-X8YJRg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xLn-X8YJRg[/video]

Title confused me for a moment. Sounded like they were suggesting we had a right to know the sexual orientation of professional players, when it can be a deeply personal thing. I agree that players should be able to talk about their sexual orientation without fear, but they shouldn't feel pressured into it. It's such trivial information really and it's a shame it's such a huge deal in many cultures around the world.

[QUOTE=Impact1986;45124850]Anecdotal evidence[/QUOTE] It's still evidence the last time I checked.

[QUOTE=Amiga OS;45123684]That's the point, it really shouldn't be a big deal, but unfortunately it is.[/QUOTE] I think people make it a big deal that it isn't a big deal.

Nobody should feel obliged to out themselves if they don't feel ready. If a footballer wants to, that's great, but literally asking them to come out of the closet doesn't seem right.

[QUOTE=Impact1986;45124605]Where is this homophobia nowadays?[/QUOTE] Pretending it doesn't happen doesn't make it better. Sure it's less prolific than before but saying it downright doesn't happen anymore is completely wrong