By Mark Baber
May 1 – NBA player Jason Collins this week became the first active competitor in a major American professional sport to announce he is gay, shining the spotlight on homophobia in football around the world, as we approach Friday’s 16th anniversary of the tragic suicide of Justin Fashanu (pictured), Britain’s first £1m black footballer and still the only prominent player to come out as gay to date.
A report into homophobic abuse reported at Brighton & Hove Albion fixtures in the 2012-2013 season, written by the Brighton & Hove Albion Supporters’ Club (BHASC) and the Gay Football Supporters’ Network (GFSN), highlights how far football still has to go to get away from the dark days when Fashanu was banned from training with team-mates and faced widespread scorn.
The report [http://gallery.mailchimp.com/38d8d5e8ac4afcc7ebb76a252/files/Report_into_abuse_at_BHA_games_March_2013.pdf] logs all Brighton & Hove Albion matches to date this season and reveals that Brighton fans have been subjected to homophobic abuse:
· by at least 72% of opponents they have faced this season;
· in at least 70% of away games; and
· in at least 57% of all their matches so far this season.
According to the report, “Some of the chants are fairly mild (“does your boyfriend know you are here”) and some more unpleasant (“you’re just a town full of faggots”). Some are meant as a “joke”, some are meant as terms of abuse. It is the view of the BHASC and GFSN that neither is acceptable. For us it is really simple, if the words relating to a person’s sexuality were replaced with words relating to someone’s race or skin colour, would those chants be acceptable? In all these cases they would not and appropriate action would be taken. “
Sickeningly, the report also details homophobic assaults on Brighton and Hove Albion fans, as well as the participation of players in making homophobic gestures, including Blackburn’s Colin Kazim-Richards.
The report puts the issue into context by quoting from Stonewall’s School Report of 2012 which says that, in the UK, 16% of gay and bisexual boys and 29% of lesbian and bisexual girls have attempted suicide, while 57% have thought about taking their own life. The actual suicide rate for gay youngsters is up to three times higher than for their heterosexual peers according to the Lesbian & Gay Foundation.
The groundwork for Jason Collins to come out successfully and to be able to provide a positive role model for youngsters, laying the foundation for a reduction to homophobic violence, was laid by competitors in other sports such as Greg Louganis and Scott Norton, but also by the vital support of straight allies within professional sport.
A cultural change increasingly sees homophobia as a form of discrimination every bit as offensive as racism. David Beckham, who in 2007 said “I’m very honoured to have the tag of gay icon,” has played an important role in this culture change and recently Welsh rugby player Gareth Thomas came out without great drama, followed by Swedish footballer Anton Hysen in 2011.
The sarong-wearing “metrosexual” Beckham, who admitted enjoying wearing ballet shoes and knickerbockers as a kid, has gone on to become the world’s richest player and there is little doubt the next football player to come out as gay will enjoy significant support from within football as well from commercial sponsors, with the “pink pound” valued at £81bn in the UK alone.
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