2014 Brazil World Cup Playbook (English)

2014 BRAZIL Sochi

WORLDPLAYBOOK CUP OLYMPICS PLAYBOOK global voices

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This June, much of the sports world will be focused on the World Cup in Brazil. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people will be among the millions of fans watching the games.

GLAAD is committed to providing the necessary resources for the media coverage about LGBT players and fans. Among the many stories coming out of the World Cup will be those that impact the LGBT community. For more information, help and guidance, please contact GLAAD. We will put media in contact with interview subjects, provide resources, facts, and ideas to tell the stories of LGBT soccer players and fans.

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story ideas: out lgbt athletes and more • In recent years, more and more athletes, both professional and amateur, are coming out as LGBT. Perhaps the most famous in the soccer world is Robbie Rogers, who now plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy.

• In 2011, Jaiyah Saelua of American Samoa became the first openly transgender person to play in a FIFA World Cup qualifier. Her performance in the match was instrumental to breaking the American Samoan team’s losing streak by clearing a goal-bound ball from the opposing team and preserving their first ever win. Saelua has been featured in the recently released documentary Next Goal Wins.

• Other openly LGBT athletes include the Puerto Rican Olympic boxer Orlando Cruz, American football player Michael Sam, basketball player Jason Collins, WNBA star Sheryl Swoopes, retired NBA player John Amaechi, former NFL football player Esera Tuaolo, rugby player Gareth Thomas , former soccer player Thomas Hitzlsperger, just to name a few.

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• As the World Cup is being held in Rio, there will likely be an emphasis on LGBT athletes from Central and South America. Perhaps the best known Latino athletes are Orlando Cruz and tennis player Gigi Fernandez. Fernandez is very open about having a partner with whom she is raising two children. Cruz married his partner in 2013 and has done several interviews about the importance of being honest about being gay. When he came out, Cruz got support from fellow fighters like Miguel Coto, Oscar de la Hoya and others.

• Openly lesbian tennis players Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King are probably the best known female athletes, but several others are joining their ranks. King was part of the delegation sent by President Obama to the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi Russia.

More recently, Liz and Jessica Aguilar have come out in the world of mixed martial artist fighting.

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• In addition, amateur sports leagues for LGBT athletes exist all around the world. One major event is the Gay Games, which will be held this August 9-16, 2014, in Cleveland, Ohio. The Gay Games is one of the largest gatherings of LGBT athletes globally. The Gay Games are based on the format of the Olympics, but provides a safe environment for athletes of all sexual orientations and gender identifies.

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• LGBT sports organizations offer visibility and support for LGBT athletes for high school, college, amateur, and professional players. You Can Play has partnered with GLAAD to ensure equality, respect, and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation. Athlete Ally focuses on ending homophobia and transphobia in sports by educating allies in the athletic community and empowering them to take a stand. Additionally, Outsports.com provides information and resources for LGBT athletes and sports fans.

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FIFA’s history with LGBT people • FIFA, the organization responsible for the World Cup, has had a mixed history with LGBT people.

• Article 3 of the FIFA statutes state: Discrimination of any kind against a Country, private person or group of people on account of race, skin color, ethnic, national or social origin, gender, language, religion, political opinion or any other opinion, wealth, birth or any other status, sexual orientation or any other reason is strictly prohibited and punishable by suspension or expulsion.

• In 2010, FIFA President Sepp Blatter was asked about the fact that the 2022 World Cup was being held in Qatar, where being gay is

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illegal and LGBT people can be imprisoned.

Blatter’s response was to laugh and state that LGBT fans who plan to attend should “refrain from sexual activity.” He later apologized.

• The 2018 World Cup is going to be held in Sochi, Russia. The decision was made before anti -LGBT laws were approved by the Russian parliament. However, the International Olympic Committee came under heavy criticism for holding the games in a country that is silencing LGBT citizens and promoting violence against them.

• Jon Amaechi, a retired basketball player, had strong words for FIFA, saying its leaders are “Neanderthals” who do not understand the modern world and who show no regard for gays, women and people of color.

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LGBT people in Brazil • Brazil’s highest court ruled in 2011 in favor of civil unions, requiring notaries register the unions of all couples, regardless of gender and orientation. Still, the LGBT community in Brazil still lacks many protections, according to activists there.

• In recent years, Brazil’s has elected several evangelical and anti-LGBT legislators. These lawmakers have blocked bills that offered protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

• In 2012, more than 3,000 complaints of violence against the LGBT community were documented. Many of these crimes go unpunished because the country has no hate crimes laws. The anti-LGBT legislators have formed a block against any hate crime legislation. The highest incidence rates of violence in Brazil target transgender women.

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• Prominent Brazilian LGBT activist Thiago Araujo recently told the Huffington Post that living in Brazil as an LGBT person was terrifying. He made the case that while recent polls reported that Brazilians had positive concepts about LGBT people, these surveys do not convey the reality faced by many LGBT people living outside major urban centers. He noted that although last year a male gay kiss was shown on a popular novel after a campaign twitter by fans, there are still taboos surrounding media representations of LGBT characters and about public displays of affection for Brazilian LGBT.

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Anti-LGBT slurs • Anti-LGBT slurs are still commonly used by fans in FIFA stadiums around the world, from London to Mexico City. Often, fans encourage their team or intimidate the opposing team with slurs that demean particular sexual orientations or gender identities as not “masculine.” Over the past several years, such slurs have become more common and more offensive.

• In addition to anti-gay cheers, recent reports indicate that t-shirts are being produced in Brazil that feature anti-LGBT slurs. The shirts have featured slogans like Maradona Maricón (Maradona is a f*g) and “C. Ronaldo Is Gay.”

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• Since many of the slurs are chanted by the crowds in the stadium, they are then broadcast to the viewing audience at home.

Hearing this type of anti-LGBT language makes LGBT people, families, and friends not only feel insulted but unsafe. It also sends the message that soccer is hostile to LGBT people.

• Celebrities who use anti-LGBT slurs are often subjected to extensive media scrutiny.

Likewise, these comments uttered by a sports figure or fans should be examined and discussed with the same attention.

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Coaches and other athletes • Often, reporters ask coaches and players to speculate on the inclusion of LGBT athletes in the sport. Sports columnists, coaches, managers and athletes sometimes claim that it is impossible for an openly gay athlete to play on a professional sports team.

• Few coaches, managers or players have experience working with an openly gay teammate. Some sports professionals say publicly that LGBT players wouldn’t be successful in the sport, while continuing to allow a culture of repression with anti-LGBT jokes and slurs.

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• Managers and representatives often express concern about public reaction to an openly gay player, thinking the stereotype of an LGBT player damages the image, reputation, and competitiveness of a team.

• When covering the topic of professional athletes, consider seeking voices in the world of sports or in the LGBT community who can challenge the substance of these claims.

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GLAAD’s 24/7 assistance and availability Since 1985, GLAAD has worked in the United States as well as internationally with news, sports, and entertainment media. GLAAD works with networks on World Cup coverage and reaches out to journalists around the world on their coverage.

GLAAD is also working with many sports and LGBT organizations, and major teams and sports professionals, both in the United States and internationally.

GLAAD’s Global Voices program has been monitoring and supporting LGBT equality around the globe.

Recently, we have seen a spike in the number of countries with increased criminalization of people who are LGBT. Russia came under intense international scrutiny for its anti-”propaganda” laws enacted months before the Olympics. Nigeria and Uganda have also imposed harsh prison sentences, not only for LGBT people, but for those who support them.

For more information, help, and guidance, please contact GLAAD. We can put you in touch with LGBT athletes, respond to specific questions, and help guide your coverage about LGBT players and fans in the World Cup. Rich Ferraro Vice President of Programs and Communications 646-871-8011 rferraro@glaad.org

Monica Trasandes Director of Spanish Language Media 323-634-2025 mtrasandes@glaad.org

Ross Murray Director of News 646-871-8040 rmurray@glaad.org 9 | GLAAD.ORG/WORLDCUP

GLAAD’S BRAZIL WORLD CUP PLAYBOOK