Premier League refuses to speak out against homophobia

greendom

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/8513284.stm

Bit pathetic really - Kick Racism out of Football was an excellent campaign.

Seems they're not quite ready to Kick Homophobia out of Football...

missingtime

greendom wrote: »

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/8513284.stm

Bit pathetic really - Kick Racism out of Football was an excellent campaign.

Seems they're not quite ready to Kick Homophobia out of Football...

The video in that article is priceless.

It'l be years before homophobia is tackled.

EDIT - no pun intented

leninbenjamin

Homosexuality splits camps right down the middle, particularly when people bring in the religious thing. When you think about it, the EPL is very popular in very intolerant societies (Middle East, China etc.). They potentially stand to alienate a huge proportion of their fans if they come out against it, so they are clearly doing this for monetary reasons.

Chucky the tree

In fairness they took it seriously when Sol Campbell was getting abuse from spurs fans while at Pompey a few years back.

greendom

leninbenjamin wrote: »

Homosexuality splits camps right down the middle, particularly when people bring in the religious thing. When you think about it, the EPL is very popular in very intolerant societies (Middle East, China etc.). They potentially stand to alienate a huge proportion of their fans if they come out against it, so they are clearly doing this for monetary reasons.

Good point- They'll never put the "bottom line" at risk

mayordenis

I know how this will come across but I really don't care that it's not being tackled, I guess I have no issue with the whole Gay thing and don't see too much of a problem with it, maybe I live in a cocoon and don't see the abuse that goes on.

Like for me at this stage when I call a friend or anyone a "bender" or any other slur, that's all it is to me "a slur", and I think to alot of people it's the same, I'm not actually trying to abuse someone over homosexuality just it's come into our vocabulary rightly or wrongly as on option along with "prick" or "tosser" or "****bag" or "****head" or "wankstain" or "****" or "****er".

CSF

mayordenis wrote: »

Like for me at this stage when I call a friend or anyone a "bender" or any other slur, that's all it is to me "a slur", and I think to alot of people it's the same

But its not about how the person slagging feels about it, is it? Its about how the person who is being offended feels, and using the word bender to indicate that homosexuality is something to be slagged about isn't cool. It might be a joke to you, but to someone who is gay and might be uncomfortable about it, its not really funny at all.

greendom

There is definitely something wrong when there is currently not one openly gay football player

And I accept it was a while ago admittedly but the one who was "outed" (Justin Fashanu) ended up killing himself.

Tusky

mayordenis wrote: »

I know how this will come across but I really don't care that it's not being tackled, I guess I have no issue with the whole Gay thing and don't see too much of a problem with it, maybe I live in a cocoon and don't see the abuse that goes on.

Like for me at this stage when I call a friend or anyone a "bender" or any other slur, that's all it is to me "a slur", and I think to alot of people it's the same, I'm not actually trying to abuse someone over homosexuality just it's come into our vocabulary rightly or wrongly as on option along with "prick" or "tosser" or "****bag" or "****head" or "wankstain" or "****" or "****er".

Calling someone a f****t or any other homophobic insult is just as bad as using words like n****r in my eyes. I know people don't see it that way at the moment, but I think in the future the word wont be used so freely. Both stem from an intolerance of something of which the person on the receiving end has no control. You dont choose to be gay anymore than you choose to be black, white or asian.

Im pretty surprised and disappointed at the premier league players. As far as I know, it was down to them not wanting to do it, rather than the premier league as a whole. They get paid so much to appear in so many ****ty adverts, yet turn down this. Something which could make a real difference not just to the people who see them as role models, but also to co-footballers who are afraid to come out. Theres not a single openly gay footballer, which means there must be a lot of them in the closet.

Whether they like it or not, they are role models to a lot of people, and people, particular kids, look up to them. Maybe if they made a collective stand, kids in the playground would think twice before calling another kid a f****t or whatever else.

daithijjj

I think its disappointing that some 'top players' who have spoken with max clifford remain shackled by footballs inherent caveman mentality, hopefully its a stepping stone for football.

Sorry i cant resist.......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86AJje3ElDc

DazMarz

I think it's a huge problem. Can you imagine if tomorrow, a top footballer came out. He'd be absolutely crucified by members of the press, and by fans. Most disturbingly, possibly fans of his team. He would possibly not receive support he'd need from his teammates nor from the management.

Football is still living in the 1950's on a lot of issues. The general public will be homophobic for quite some time to come.

GLaDOS

DazMarz wrote: »

Most disturbingly, possibly fans of his team. He would possibly not receive support he'd need from his teammates nor from the management.

If a Bohs player came out and got abuse from the opposition (quite likely) I've no doubt we'd support them. It's one thing to slag someone's sexuality, but it's better to get one over rival fans

redout

I dont see the big deal.

Didnt a Welsh rugby player "come out" just a few weeks back ?

greendom

redout wrote: »

I dont see the big deal.

Didnt a Welsh rugby player "come out" just a few weeks back ?

Not a big deal that they speak out; or not a big deal that they don't?

Fratton Fred

In principle I agree that homophobia has no place in football, or society for that matter, but I think it is a lot harder to define.

Is a shout of "get up you poof" homophobic? What about "do you take it up the Arse"? Is that ok when chanted at Victoria Beckham, but homophobic when chanted at David?

It is also something that is personal. A lot of people don't wish to speak about their sexuality because it is their own private business whereas the colour of your skin is usually pretty obvious.

CSF

Fratton Fred wrote: »

What about "do you take it up the Arse"? Is that ok when chanted at Victoria Beckham, but homophobic when chanted at David?

Ah come on like, get a grip. Obviously its not homophobic when chanted at Victoria, not saying its ok, but you've got to be smart enough to realise that asking a girl if she takes it up the arse is demeaning, while asking a guy if he takes it up the arse is homophobic and demeaning.

Two horrible issues, but also two completely different issues.

Carcharodon

Tusky wrote: »

Calling someone a f****t or any other homophobic insult is just as bad as using words like n****r in my eyes. I know people don't see it that way at the moment, but I think in the future the word wont be used so freely. Both stem from an intolerance of something of which the person on the receiving end has no control. You dont choose to be gay anymore than you choose to be black, white or asian.

Im pretty surprised and disappointed at the premier league players. As far as I know, it was down to them not wanting to do it, rather than the premier league as a whole. They get paid so much to appear in so many ****ty adverts, yet turn down this. Something which could make a real difference not just to the people who see them as role models, but also to co-footballers who are afraid to come out. Theres not a single openly gay footballer, which means there must be a lot of them in the closet.

Whether they like it or not, they are role models to a lot of people, and people, particular kids, look up to them. Maybe if they made a collective stand, kids in the playground would think twice before calling another kid a f****t or whatever else.

I understand what you are saying and agree to a certain extent but I believe people place too much emphasis on the actual words such n****r, f***t etc
I think it is the deep seeded beliefs and attitudes towards minorities such as gays that are the problem and will be very hard to change. We could stop the use of these words but people attitudes would be the same, for example, Americans can claim to be a well integrated tolerant nation with minorities but racism is still a massive issue and is just a way of life really.
I know it is an obvious point about the words but a lot of people that use these words as insults towards gays don't even know what they are saying really.

I think it is a disgrace that footballers don't stand up and try and change peoples attitudes. It will be a slow process but I think would definitely lead to positive results. I think you would eventually get some players to come out and this would definitely have positive results towards the attitudes of the youth. The more people that are able to be open about there sexuality the less of an issue it will become.
We hear all the crap about footballers being role models on the pitch but when it comes to something that actually matters in society they shy away from the issue.

d22ontour

Carcharodon wrote: »

I know it is an obvious point about the words but a lot of people that use these words as insults towards gays don't even know what they are saying really.

Of course they do.They hardly know who they are calling gay this week from last week.

Carcharodon wrote: »

I think it is a disgrace that footballers don't stand up and try and change peoples attitudes. It will be a slow process but I think would definitely lead to positive results. I think you would eventually get some players to come out and this would definitely have positive results towards the attitudes of the youth. The more people that are able to be open about there sexuality the less of an issue it will become.
We hear all the crap about footballers being role models on the pitch but when it comes to something that actually matters in society they shy away from the issue.

Surely the acceptance of these minorities you state would rather integrate themselves ?

What has this got to do with Football ?

Carcharodon

d22ontour wrote: »

Of course they do.They hardly know who they are calling gay this week from last week.

Oh boy, The point is people don't even realise why they are insulting gay people, why is it bad to be gay ? What are the meanings behind these words ? Its all about educating people.

d22ontour wrote: »

Surely the acceptance of these minorities you state would rather integrate themselves ?

What has this got to do with Football ?

Why should they integrate themselves ?

Football is a very big part of society (you may have noticed), people receive a lot of money right across the board through football and in my opinion they have an obligation to try and give something back, not just financially but through educating people and trying to have a real positive impact on communities and society.

Of course it is a persons right to be a sheep and live in their own bubble but sometime it is just a good thing when people or associations try and improve things.

Pro. F

Fratton Fred wrote: »

In principle I agree that homophobia has no place in football, or society for that matter, but I think it is a lot harder to define.

No, not that hard to define. Discriminating against gay people is homophobic. Slagging anybody about being gay and therefor inferring that homosexuality is a bad thing is homophobic. Simples

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Is a shout of "get up you poof" homophobic?

Yes.

Fratton Fred wrote: »

What about "do you take it up the Arse"? Is that ok when chanted at Victoria Beckham, but homophobic when chanted at David?

I find it hard to believe that you're really this ignorant about life.

Fratton Fred wrote: »

It is also something that is personal. A lot of people don't wish to speak about their sexuality because it is their own private business whereas the colour of your skin is usually pretty obvious.

I sort of agree with this. Especially when you consider that some gay people don't want every member of their family to know that they're gay, even if they are fairly open about it with other people in their life.

But the thing is, a lot of footballers tell the world a lot about their private lives. If football, and society in general, wasn't so homophobic then we would know about the existence of at least a few gay footballers.

It's a pity that the FA and the players aren't speaking up against this like they did with racism.