Stars of the AFL come out in support of gays

[Beckers]

You seem to misunderstand most of the issues at hand here. Firstly it is very much a chicken and the egg scenario with respect to coming out and acceptance. There must be a level of acceptance to open the doors for people to be willing to come out but the more people who come out the more accepting society, or it's sub groups become.

Also, as much as 2010 wider society is more accepting than in the past, it isn't a completely accepting society. The wider view in Australia tends to be "it's okay to be gay as long as I don't have to be exposed to it". Eg A gay couple
holding hands still gets looks while a straight couple doesn't. We are hardly living in a society that is fully accepting, and the sport/AFL sub group in society is historically less accepting.

The first openly gay AFL footballer will be put through hell. History teaches us that. It will be an incredibly brave man to do so and every gay footballer after him will have him to thank for their relatively lower struggle. However, to
convey footballers who are not ready to take that bullet of being the first gay footballers as cowards is bullshit.

One of the greatest moments in VFL/AFL history was when Nicky Winmar lifted his top at Victoria Park and pointed to his black skin. Even though it was not a secret, it showed that he was not ashamed of being aboriginal as was not going to put up with the taunts of the racist element at Collingwood.

That ONE moment changed attitudes to aboriginal culture more than any other has and forged a path for many more aborigianl players to join the league and thrive.

Nicky Winmar, like Ian Roberts in the NRL were NOT cowards! Gay AFL players could clear a path in society, the work force and sporting arenas for their gay colleagues but choose not to.

 

[Commando]

One of the greatest moments in VFL/AFL history was when Nicky Winmar lifted his top at Victoria Park and pointed to his black skin. Even though it was not a secret, it showed that he was not ashamed of being aboriginal as was not going to put up with the taunts of the racist element at Collingwood.

That ONE moment changed attitudes to aboriginal culture more than any other has and forged a path for many more aborigianl players to join the league and thrive.

Nicky Winmar, like Ian Roberts in the NRL were NOT cowards! Gay AFL players could clear a path in society, the work force and sporting arenas for their gay colleagues but choose not to.

winmar and gays, apples and oranges.

and if they choose not to is that so bad?

im just saying the first to come out will be extremely brave and for all those who dont good luck to you, but by no means are they cowards.

 

[notting18]

One of the greatest moments in VFL/AFL history was when Nicky Winmar lifted his top at Victoria Park and pointed to his black skin. Even though it was not a secret, it showed that he was not ashamed of being aboriginal as was not going to put up with the taunts of the racist element at Collingwood.

That ONE moment changed attitudes to aboriginal culture more than any other has and forged a path for many more aborigianl players to join the league and thrive.

Nicky Winmar, like Ian Roberts in the NRL were NOT cowards! Gay AFL players could clear a path in society, the work force and sporting arenas for their gay colleagues but choose not to.

Nicky Winmar standing up to racism was courageous but you are
misguided to the point of stupidity by assuming that if you aren't courageous you are cowards. There is a continuous spectrum with these concepts, they are not discrete options where you are either one or the other. I would challenge you to risk you job, livelihood,mental and physical health and see if you are wiling to make that jump.

What makes someone courageous is doing something incredibly difficult that most other people in their shoes wouldn't do. Unless the vast majority of people are cowards you should be able to see the flaws in your argument.

 

[P.A.F.C]

One of the greatest moments in VFL/AFL history was when Nicky Winmar lifted his top at Victoria Park and pointed to his black skin. Even though it was not a secret, it showed that he was not ashamed of being aboriginal as was not going to put up with the taunts of the racist element at Collingwood.

That ONE moment changed attitudes to aboriginal culture more than any other has and forged a path for many more aborigianl players to join the league and thrive.

Nicky Winmar, like Ian Roberts in the NRL were NOT cowards! Gay AFL players could clear a path in society, the work force and sporting arenas for their gay colleagues but choose not to.

The first, and only professional footballer(soccer) to come out ended up killing himself.

But yeah, all gay AFL players are cowards.

 

[Beckers]

The first, and only professional footballer(soccer) to come out ended up killing himself.

But yeah, all gay AFL players are cowards.

If you are talking about Justin Fashinau, he committed suicide because he allegedly raped a young boy!

 

[AndSmithMustScore]

One of the greatest moments in VFL/AFL history was when Nicky Winmar lifted his top at Victoria Park and pointed to his black skin. Even though it was not a secret, it showed that he was not ashamed of being aboriginal as was not going to put up with the taunts of the racist element at Collingwood.

That ONE moment changed attitudes to aboriginal culture more than any other has and forged a path for many more aborigianl players to join the league and thrive.

Nicky Winmar, like Ian Roberts in the NRL were NOT cowards! Gay AFL players could clear a path in society, the work force and sporting arenas for their gay colleagues but choose not to.

So melodramatic.

AFL clubs would have recruited young aboriginal players regardless of what Nicky Winmar did.

To suggest otherwise it utterly ridiculous.

Funnily enough players are recruited for their skill sets, not their skin colours.

If an AFL footballer is gay, chances are he's not a mardi gras type gay, he's just a normal bloke who doesnt find parades of dykes on bikes and fat men with the arse out their pants appealing.

But if he comes out those are the kind of people who'll try and use him as some pin up boy for their cause even though it's probably not HIS cause.

He probably just wants to play footy, not be some gay icon or political tool which he's be turned into.

 

[P.A.F.C]

If you are talking about Justin Fashinau, he committed suicide because he allegedly raped a young boy!

It's far more complex than that. As for those allegations, he denied them to his death and apparently killed himself because he thought he was already assumed guilty, despite the fact that the charge was going to be dropped.

He couldn't cope with what his friend Peter Tatchell calls 'Brian Clough's homophobic verbal attacks' once he found out he was regularly visiting a gay night club.

His form suffered. Clough banned him from the training ground and then sold him for £100,000 to local rivals Notts County.

Later Clough would express regret about how he treated Justin Fashanu - effectively it had destroyed him as a player.

BBC Radio Nottingham match reporter Colin Slater who interviewed Justin as a player sums the sad story up by saying:

"The tragedy is Justin Fashanu will be remembered for two things. That he was gay and that he hanged himself. Not for his unquestionable talent as a footballer."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/content/articles/2008/04/21/east_midlands_gay_footballers_s13_w9_feature.shtml

 

[Surreal O Reilly]

Usually, I'm embarrassed when the AFL acts as community leader and tries to teach the public how to act and behave. But then I saw how effective their anti-racism campaign was and I realised many football fans are half-witted morons who weren't raised properly and need AFL guidance.

Mr Demetriou said: ''Homophobia has no place in our game. The AFL altered our rules last year, to ensure that we stand against any discrimination on the basis of sexual identity or orientation."

Why then, is the AFL so scared of soccer?

This would make more sense if it said, "You can't fist properly with shaky hands"

 

[The Falcon Strike]

If a footballer came out and said he is gay would he be targeted on the field ????

Not in the AFL - most blokes under 35 nowadays accept homsoexuality in our everyday life.

There'd be a few neanderthalic drongos who would think of having a crack - but would be put off by the threat of suspension.

The bigger issue i'd imagine would be how your team-mates would react. There was a recent case in Union in the UK - and basically the team-mates said - we don't care.

I reckon being called a NTTAWWT on the field would be far less a fear than the fear of having your team-mates shun you. (Which i don't think would happen)

 

[notting18]

So melodramatic.

AFL clubs would have recruited young aboriginal players regardless of what Nicky Winmar did.

To suggest otherwise it utterly ridiculous.

Funnily enough players are recruited for their skill sets, not their skin colours.

If an AFL footballer is gay, chances are he's not a mardi gras type gay, he's just a normal bloke who doesnt find parades of dykes on bikes and fat men with the arse out their pants appealing.

But if he comes out those are the kind of people who'll try and use him as some pin up boy for their cause even though it's probably not HIS cause.

He probably just wants to play footy, not be some gay icon or political tool which he's be turned into.

Exhibit A of "Gay is OK as long as I don't have to be exposed to it"

 

[Ant85]

Good start, better late than never.

It's good to see the AFL acknowledges how influential it is on social, and particularly patriarchal, attitudes towards homophobia, as well as other major issues.

Still has a fair bit of work to do though, not just on homophobia, but on other issues such as alcoholism and women.

 

[HawkMongrel]

Serious question but does any else get the feeling that a the first public outing of an AFL player (or ex-player) is imminent ??

Just seems to be a bit of orchestrated talk about the place - feels to me like they are setting the scene for an announcement...

I can see this coming too.

I really have to know: what does this initiative have to do with football?

 

[Perce]

Nicky Winmar, like Ian Roberts in the NRL were NOT cowards! Gay AFL players could clear a path in society, the work force and sporting arenas for their gay colleagues but choose not to.

And by your twisted logic, every Aboriginal player prior to Nicky who had been racially abused but who had not spoken up about it publicly must have been a coward. Maurice Rioli? Coward. Polly Farmer? Coward. Magic McLean? Coward.

You're just not thinking this through, Boris. it is possible that a gay AFL footballer may prefer to be known for his football rather than his sexuality. Doesn't make him any more or less cowardly.

 

[willoblue]

great initiative

 

[Brett5150]

Was'nt there a sydney swans player an out crossdresser a few years ago? I forgot his name. He went to Brisbane and Port too, for a cuppla stints. He was'nt gay, but he confessed to wearing womens clothes. No one had a prob with that.

 

[tribey]

Fantastic work by the AFL and players/officials involved.

+1..

 

[Suspense]

But general attitudes will never change while these cowards hide behind their veil of secrecy. Gays in the movies, politics and other sports like soccer and NRL have been man enough to come out but AFL footballers appear to be pretty gutless!

They are also letting down their entire gay community by pretending to the world they are hetrosexual. Like i said before, are they ashamed of their sexual preferences?

Uh, what business is it of yours? If a gay AFL wishes to come out as openly gay, that is completely up to them. If they don't, and there are many valid reasons as to why, which AndSmithMustScore alluded to (ie. being forced by the media and special interest groups into a role model/gay icon position that they may not want or be comfortable with), that is completely cool .

At any length, I don't see why they should have to deal with Busybody Beckers and his asinine judgments of cowardice...

 

[footyfreak]

For those that haven't seen the pics on the website, here are some of them:

Good initiative by the players. Times are a changing and statistically there must be a few afl players who are gay. Must be bloody hard for them.

 

[cammo78]

Was'nt there a sydney swans player an out crossdresser a few years ago? I forgot his name. He went to Brisbane and Port too, for a cuppla stints. He was'nt gay, but he confessed to wearing womens clothes. No one had a prob with that.

Adam Heuskes...strange cat.

 

[Hearts to hearts]

This thread would have been better if it was started in the bay. Could have have some fun with it without the restrictions that are in place in this forum.

You can go and have your "fun" if you want to.

No reason the rest of us can't have a civilised conversation here about AFL players doing something most of us think is so important and worthwhile.

And in answer to a question earlier, most gay adults don't need any of this as affirmation, or to make them feel good. But these posters held up by champion footy players, as simple as they are, could help keep some stressed-out gay kids alive while they work out they aren't alone.

 

[Hawthorn United]

Brett Kirk is the only player I can think of that pashes males. But I think that's more having fun or a laugh than anything else.

 

[arsene wenger1]

if a player announced he was gay he would be looked at differently, no doubt about that. you would be kidding yourself if you think differently

 

[Beckers]

So melodramatic.

AFL clubs would have recruited young aboriginal players regardless of what Nicky Winmar did.

To suggest otherwise it utterly ridiculous.
Funnily enough players are recruited for their skill sets, not their skin colours..

If an AFL footballer is gay, chances are he's not a mardi gras type gay, he's just a normal bloke who doesnt find parades of dykes on bikes and fat men with the arse out their pants appealing.

But if he comes out those are the kind of people who'll try and use him as some pin up boy for their cause even though it's probably not HIS cause.

He probably just wants to play footy, not be some gay icon or political tool which he's be turned into.

You obviously never heard of Hawthorns 'whites only' recruiting policy then

 

[Slattery_20]

You obviously never heard of Hawthorns 'whites only' recruiting policy then

And I'm sure it was a turning point for the Pies (and a few others) too.

 

[Damon_3388]

I've got to be careful how I word this, because I don't want it to appear homophobic (when I'm anything but), but there's always been something I don't quite understand about homosexuality -

Why do homosexuals (or those who aren't gay, but know someone who is) feel it's necessary to perform a big "coming out" announcement? Can't they just be allowed/allow themselves to live their life as normal and not be so defined by their sexuality? Heterosexuals for the most part don't feel the need to make such a point of their sexuality, yet homosexuals (and I've met a few) either tell you right away or make it blatantly obvious that they're gay. Homosexuals want to be treated equally and not be discriminated against (and that's fine, because we should all expect to be treated equally), but then often make a show of their sexuality and exploit it with events such as the Mardi Gras. If heterosexuals began a street parade that looked similar to the Mardi Gras, or spoke about their sexual activity as openly as some do (judging by the ribald sex talk that a relative of mine hears in workplace, where a number of gay men and women work) they'd most likely be cast out as sexual deviants and lambasted by those around them for being inappropriate. Homosexuality would probably receive a lot less heat if there wasn't so much showiness about the whole act of "coming out" and being gay.

If an AFL player wants to announce that he's gay, then that's his choice, but I don't see why a big announcement is required in the first place. If they don't announce it, I wouldn't see it as hiding anything. I'd more likely see it as normal, as in they're just acting like everyone else in not making a big show of their sexuality in public.

If I was an AFL player, and a teammate "came out", it wouldn't worry me a bit, and I wouldn't treat him any differently. Personally, I don't care if people are gay or straight. What I don't care for is public exploitation of people's sexuality. Sexuality IMO is a private thing and doesn't need to be made a show of or an example of in public. So if someone such as an AFL player is gay, and they choose to keep it to themselves, it's their business, and they shouldn't be labelled as a coward for doing so.