Pi Newspaper | March 2012 focus@pimedia.org.uk


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Out in Sport: tackling discrimination


Focus Editor Chris Thomas and Stef Newton, UCLU’s LGBT Officer, explore how a government campaign, backed by the NUS, may offer a way forward to increasing participation and acceptance of LGBT people in sport


FOOTBALL, on the surface,


seems to be the most egalitarian of sports, combining a long, rich history, with unrivalled global participation. The “football family” – as termed by FIFA – is indeed a disparate one; you’d seemingly be hard pressed to find a global demographic not involved in either the playing or the watching of the “beautiful game”. Initial appearances can be deceptive, though, and to prove it, ask yourself one question: Can you name an openly homosexual football player? If you’re struggling, don’t


be surprised: there has only ever been one, ever. The case of Justin Fashanu is an exceedingly sad one. He revealed his homosexuality as a pre-emptive measure, before being outed by the British press. His vilification after coming out in 1990 was palpable from all corners, including, sadly, from his own brother, John Fashanu. His life spiralled downwards; a promising football career went unfulfilled in minor leagues outside England. However, much worse was to come. In 1998, after a move to the United States, Justin became embroiled in


an allegation of sexual assault made by a 17-year-old male. Fashanu retreated to England, deeply unhappy, seemingly with no-one to turn to, and on May 3 1998 he broke into a lock-up in Shoreditch and hanged himself. This isn’t the place to dissect


why a talented, good-looking young man decided to take his own life. But it isn’t hard to conclude that the lack of support, not just from those close to him, but more widely from the general public and crucially from those inside football, must have played a part. Let’s move on; society


certainly has. For instance, it was only three years before in 1987, that John Barnes – at the time one of England’s most prominent black footballers – had to use his football skills to remove a banana from the pitch that had been thrown in his direction. While football may still have some racial demons to exorcise, an act of this type is now an unthinkable occurrence in the stands. So why more than 20 years after Justin Fashanu came out does he remain the stark, sole example? At this stage it would be


tempting to view football alone as an anachronistic dinosaur in the world of sport. The lack of homosexual players is made to look all the more shocking in the light of several high profile gay players in sports just as macho, such as rugby league, rugby union and basketball. However, the problem lies deeper within a society whose readily complacent nature is all too willing to believe that the issues of homophobia and racism have been banished to the history books.


This year, an Olympic year no


less, the focus is on sport even more than usual. With this in mind there has been much talk of smashing discrimination in sports culture, leading to the government’s Charter for Action, a campaign to stomp out homophobia and transphobia in sport. The Football Association (FA), the Lawn Tennis Association, the England and Wales Cricket Board, the Rugby Football League and the Rugby Football Union have joined the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) in becoming the first signatories of the Charter. The Equalities Minister


Lynne Featherstone has said that “sport should be about what you can do, not who you are. But too many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people feel that the sports field is not somewhere they can be themselves, and that prejudice and discrimination will mean their sexuality is always talked about more than their ability with a ball, bat or racket.” Unfortunately,


this


discrimination can also be felt in the confines of our own and other universities. The Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) found that many LGBT students chose to self exclude themselves from sports societies and clubs, while 62 per cent of LGB students who did participate were not out in sports societies or clubs. Furthermore, the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) found that only 35.2 per cent LGB learners in further education were fully or partially out in sports clubs and societies; this figure was even lower for transgender respondents. In light of this the National


Gareth Thomas leads the list of openly homosexual sportspeople active in sports other than football


Union for Students has raised its own campaign, Out in Sport, backed by the UCLU LGBT, with


Justin Fashanu, twenty years on, still the only openly gay footballer


the aim of understanding the sporting experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students in further and higher education, while supporting unions and institutions in making sport more inclusive. Two main points are emphasised: avoiding the assumption that everyone is heterosexual and challenging homophobic and transphobic


language and


behaviour. The first step of the campaign


is promoting acceptance of LGBT members in all aspects of sport. Many members may not be out for fear of homophobic or transphobic reactions, so everyone is being encouraged to support those that do chose to come out, and not to share the information with anyone without their permission. The use of inappropriate language is also being targeted. Comments often thought of as lighthearted, such as “you’re so gay!”, can be problematic in their use of “gay” as a synonym for negative, insinuating that being gay is something bad and something of which people should be ashamed. The world of football will


remain a strange one while there


are no openly gay players. It seems short-sighted to think that there are currently no gay footballers; instead, those who are gay prefer to keep their sexual preference known only by their close circle of family and friends. In many respects they cannot be blamed for this. Society has changed since 1990, but the spectre of Justin Fashanu hangs heavy, and who would want to be the first player to test the reaction of the often vociferous British tabloid press?


In addition, while the FA do


little more than offer lip service towards fighting homophobia, the importance of changing attitudes at the grass roots level becomes accentuated. No doubt the day will come when there are openly gay footballers, but the rapidity with which this day is reached can be affected by all of us. For while it remains that an LGBT sportsperson is seen as an anomaly, the status quo prevails. Instead, if the reality of the true makeup of our own sporting demographic can be faced it might not be too long before the next Justin Fashanu is seen, but hopefully with a very different outcome.


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