Come Out, Come Out, Where Ever You Are
Nathan Burke, former St Kilda skipper and now club director, [top picture] has spoken out about homophobia in the AFL. He wants the league to discipline and penalise players who engage in homophobic behaviour.
“The rules should be along the same lines as its successful racial vilification policy,” Burke told the Herald Sun.
He wants gay and lesbian anti-discrimination rules implemented across all sports clubs in Victoria and is working with Rob Mitchell, a well known activist, to make it happen.
Time will tell whether or not the anti-homophobia measures will actually result in any players coming out. It was thought that Ian Roberts’ coming out in 1995 would open the flood gates, however when it comes to proud gay sports stars in Australia, he still stands out there pretty much on his own. In the world of Australian Rules Football no man has ever outed himself.
In a 2004 article in The Age, Jason Dowling asked why there haven’t been any openly gay Aussie Rules footballers. He said that with between 5 and 10% of the population being gay, and with Australian Rules Football being more than 100 years old and with there being about 680 contracted AFL players in 2004, surely there have to be some gay players lurking out there somewhere.
Perhaps they’ve looked at how coming out has affected other sporting heroes? Some have lost years of sponsorship deals, others careers have plummeted, leading to ruin and in some cases, suicide.
Think whatever you like about Ian Roberts, but the man was brave to step out back in the nineties. After coming out he received a letter which read, “AIDS will finish you in hell. SODOMIST. An arsehole bandit. You are pure filth and will die SOON!”
With opinions like that out there, Nathan Burke and Rob Mitchell sure do have their work cut out for them.
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caine-mac
said on the 11th May, 2008
arryspace
said on the 11th May, 2008