LGBT IS STILL FACING HUGE CHALLENGES IN THE WORLD OF SPORTS

LGBT IS STILL FACING HUGE CHALLENGES IN THE WORLD OF SPORTS

✦ Increased inclusion can have a transformative impact

October is LGBT History month in Australia, a time when we celebrate and further promote the merits of equality and inclusion.

However, despite significant progress made in recent years for the LGBT community to achieve acceptance and equality in society, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and other barriers are still, unfortunately, prevalent in the sports arena.

When we consider that it was over 100 years ago when tennis great Bill Tilden proudly confirmed he was homosexual, thus becoming the first athlete of note to do so, we have to seriously ask how much ground has been covered and how much subsequent progress has been made.

There have been notable examples of athletes over the years coming out as gay, lesbian and transgender with the likes of Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Caitlyn Jenner springing to mind but the number has been nowhere near enough.

Many cite the “macho” nature of traditional, maledominated sports such as football (soccer), rugby, boxing and the likes of the NFL in the United States as reason for LGBT athletes not to come out and it is believed the fear of abusive chants, threats, bullying and physical assault lead many players to hide their sexuality.

Australian rugby league player Ian Roberts was the first major sports personality in Australia to come out when he posed nude for a gay magazine in 1995 and spoke about being “part of a different group... an outsider.”

Roberts recounts times when he was assaulted by fans while walking from the field of play and an instance when he was knocked unconscious after a vicious attack while walking the Sydney Harbour forecourt.

More recently, Roberts aired his displeasure at the lack of progress and condemned Australia’s main sporting bodies for making “empty promises” to eliminate homophobia, as a collection of groundbreaking new studies reveal ongoing harm to young LGBTQ+ people in sport.

This trend was not helped by the hugely controversial and outspoken comments of devout Christian Israel Forlau who said on Instagram in 2018 that homosexuals would go to “Hell... unless they repent of their sins and turn to God.”

However, progress has been made, even if it has been sluggish, and the change and maturing of attitudes in wider societal circles have had a positive measurable impact in the sporting world.

The recently-staged Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games were widely considered a triumph for the LGBT community with a record number of athletes who have come out participating.

Australia had nine LGBT athletes competing in Tokyo, including tennis veteran Sam Stosur, women’s rugby sevens player Sharni Williams, basketballer Leilani Mitchell and footballer Sam Kerr.

We now have powerful figures in sport that represent the LGBT community and provide a voice to the cause. US women’s football star Megan Rapinoe is a prime example of someone that has excelled in her sport and used her fame to propel off-pitch activism. Her clashes for controversial US President Donald Trump are well documented and lauded by supporters of minority rights.

The Gay Games will be hosted in Hong Kong next year. It will be interesting to see how this is embraced in a location that has increasingly and unwillingly become just another Chinese city, especially given Beijing’s archaic views on the subject.

We also have the World Gay Boxing Championships, founded by 45-yearold Aussie Martin Stark, which will be held in 2023 in Sydney to coincide with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and when the city will also host World Pride.

There is clearly still much work to be done and the LGBT community still has a battle on its hands within the sporting world to achieve full acceptance. However, the signs are definitely there that progress is being made and we can, hopefully one day soon, all embrace the wonder of sport in a united fashion, regardless of sexual preference.