Okay I AM gay, so if anyone is going to bring up such a topic it ought to be me.
I understand that as with many sports, football wants to stand aside from , and even above, politics. But I studied politics. The definition of politics that I came to accept was inclusive. It is remarkably easy to find a political aspect to everything that happens in human society. Hard to establish the a-political.
Once you have a complex society diverse human sexuality cannot but be an issue. Attitudes to it unavoidably shape that society. Whatever shapes the nature of a society must by definition also become political.
So my view is the "rainbow" campaign is political. You can therefore question whether embracing any particular view and publicising it should play any part in sport.
Personally I would love to see an openly gay world-class male footballer on the road to becoming an icon. Unfortunately were I now as good as I wanted to be at the game, with a temperament to match, I'd still feel very daunted about entering the dressing room and experiencing that culture every single day. For example how would I have felt about marching out to every big game, holding some random child's hand, as though the ability and desire to reproduce was all that could make me worthwhile as a man? And isn't that in itself a political act very little different from wearing rainbow laces? Politics is all around us, the very air we breathe.
BUT, if being gay and support or opposition to diverse sexuality is political, how come sport itself does not recognise that it cannot help being political? It is everywhere in our culture, it informs our lives and the way we live, it brings nations together and divides them. It presides over collisions in race, culture, religion ........ Sport is political. It makes Israel part of Europe. It makes countries which do not exist into international teams. It punishes Russia and rewards Qatar. Sport and politics ..... how do we divide them?
There is a great deal of virtue-signalling with the rainbow campaign. There is also genuine support. Players who tie their boots and think sexuality shouldn't matter, skill should.
Does all this increase awareness and tolerance or does it eventually subside, like taking the knee, to just another thing that happens pre-kick-off?
What does anyone else think? And you don't need to be sensitive to an old poof.
I understand that as with many sports, football wants to stand aside from , and even above, politics. But I studied politics. The definition of politics that I came to accept was inclusive. It is remarkably easy to find a political aspect to everything that happens in human society. Hard to establish the a-political.
Once you have a complex society diverse human sexuality cannot but be an issue. Attitudes to it unavoidably shape that society. Whatever shapes the nature of a society must by definition also become political.
So my view is the "rainbow" campaign is political. You can therefore question whether embracing any particular view and publicising it should play any part in sport.
Personally I would love to see an openly gay world-class male footballer on the road to becoming an icon. Unfortunately were I now as good as I wanted to be at the game, with a temperament to match, I'd still feel very daunted about entering the dressing room and experiencing that culture every single day. For example how would I have felt about marching out to every big game, holding some random child's hand, as though the ability and desire to reproduce was all that could make me worthwhile as a man? And isn't that in itself a political act very little different from wearing rainbow laces? Politics is all around us, the very air we breathe.
BUT, if being gay and support or opposition to diverse sexuality is political, how come sport itself does not recognise that it cannot help being political? It is everywhere in our culture, it informs our lives and the way we live, it brings nations together and divides them. It presides over collisions in race, culture, religion ........ Sport is political. It makes Israel part of Europe. It makes countries which do not exist into international teams. It punishes Russia and rewards Qatar. Sport and politics ..... how do we divide them?
There is a great deal of virtue-signalling with the rainbow campaign. There is also genuine support. Players who tie their boots and think sexuality shouldn't matter, skill should.
Does all this increase awareness and tolerance or does it eventually subside, like taking the knee, to just another thing that happens pre-kick-off?
What does anyone else think? And you don't need to be sensitive to an old poof.