En français / Yannick Agnel, médaillé olympiqe gay-friendly

Têtu.com évoque le numéro spécial "sport", en kiosque :


Il attire tous les regards. Surtout depuis sa victoire dimanche soir en relais avec ses collègues du 4 x 100 mètres, puis celle en individuel sur 200 mètres nage libre. Yannick Agnel, 20 ans, est sans conteste LA star française des Jeux olympiques de Londres. En une saison, le colosse nîmois (1,98 m, 81 kilos), est passé du statut d’espoir à celui de roi des bassins.

Mais avant même le début des JO, le beau nageur avait tapé dans l'œil de TÊTU. Yannick Agnel est en effet en interview dans le dernier numéro (juillet-août). Dans le cadre d’un vaste dossier sur les sportifs friendly, le jeune champion tricolore évoque l'ouverture d'esprit en équipe de France de natation (Frédéric Bousquet a fait la couv' de TÊTU en février 2010), une équipe où l’on n'hésite pas à s’amuser des clichés véhiculées sur la natation, à chambrer les camarades qui posent en sous-vêtements, une équipe où il n'y a aucun tabou.


Le nouveau phénomène de la natation française s’exprime également sur l’homosexualité dans le sport. «Ceux qui sont gênés par l’homosexualité n’ont pas compris grand-chose à la vie en général, déclare Yannick Agnel. Moi, je trouve ça tout à fait normal. Chacun a l’orientation sexuelle qu'il a. Je ne trouverais pas choquant qu'un nageur ou n'importe quel sportif puisse faire son coming out.»


Continuer à lire ICI.

UEFA executive at LGBT Euro 2012 party

From Gay Star News:

A UEFA chief has emphasized the organizations commitment to tackling homophobia at a gay reception hosted in the Ukraine.

He was joined by soccer fans from France, Spain, Portugal and Austria at the party hosted by British lesbian activist Claire Dimyon where he met members of the LGBT community in Donetsk.

Together they toasted gay pride and Ukrainian Constitution Day, which is on 28 June, at the party last night (26 June).

Patrick Gasser, who heads UEFA’s football and social responsibility unit, said: ‘I am here to confirm our commitment to oppose all forms of discrimination, all homophobia and all racism. I am delighted to participate in the special celebration of pride.’
Keep reading HERE.

Boston's Northeastern University athletics say "You Can Play"

Northeastern University student-athletes and administrators join together in support of the You Can Play project, in the fight for respect in sports. Watch their You Can Play video below.

Nike LGBT Sports Summit concludes with call for action for young athletes

Groundbreaking Nike LGBT Sports Summit Takes on Bullying, Homophobia and Transphobia in Sports
Comprehensive Action Plan Aims to Redefine ‘Athletic Champion’

(Beaverton, OR, June 18, 2012)—Many of the nation’s top lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer sports leaders joined Nike representatives at Nike World Headquarters for the first-ever Nike LGBT Sports Summit to combat bullying and anti-LGBTQ bias and discrimination in sports.

Advocates and organizations pooled their expertise and strengths over the last four days—June 14 to June 17—to develop a unified plan to end harassment and discrimination against LGBTQ athletes and coaches in kindergarten through high school, college, recreational sports, and professional sports.

In the next year, this newly formed LGBTQ sports coalition will work to achieve the following goals:

• Each of the major American professional sports leagues will be engaged to work with our member organizations toward inclusion in their league.
• The visibility of out collegiate athletes, coaches, and allies will be increased through a multi-pronged approach.
• The national youth and adult recreational leagues will receive a LGBTQ inclusive model policy, and at least five leagues　will have adopted such a policy.
• Two million young people will have heard a new, inclusive definition of "athletic champion," and their physical education teachers and coaches will have received inclusive training resources.

Outsports co-founder Cyd Zeigler began developing the summit last year after identifying a failure by LGBTQ sports advocates to work together toward a common goal. Zeigler then joined forces with National Center for Lesbian Rights Sports Project Director Helen Carroll and Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s Changing the Game Sports Director Pat Griffin. Zeigler approached Nike about hosting the event, and they jumped at the chance.

"As athletes and coaches, we all understand the power of working as a team," said Zeigler. "This summit has given us the unique opportunity to identify our common goals and move forward as a united movement. Working together, we will dismantle bullying and anti-LGBTQ bias and discrimination in sports in the next four years."

Said Carroll: "I am excited to see transgender people, people of color, men, women and allies in sports working together to create a unified movement that captures the power of our different experiences and voices. The strength from this collaboration and these specific plans will make the sports world safer and more inclusive for all."

Organizations involved in the summit included: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance; Athlete Ally; Br{ache the Silence; Campus Pride; ESPN; Fearless campaign; Federation of Gay Games; Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD); Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN); I Am Enough; It Gets Better project; National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR); National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); Nike; Our Group; Outsports; StandUp Foundation; and You Can Play project.

"This summit happened at the right time," said Griffin. "We are riding the crest of a wave of attitude change about LGBTQ people in sports. We hope that the action plans that were identified at the summit will speed up this change."

Plans for future summits include an open invitation to other organizations and individuals to join these and future action plans to eliminate bullying and LGBTQ bias and discrimination in sports.

The event concluded with summit participants joining the Nike contingency in the Portland Pride Parade.

Ben Cohen featured as ally in Interpride magazine

The 2012 Interpride magazine lists Ben Cohen in its "allies" report:

BEN COHEN, the straight 34-year-old English Rugby World Cup champion, has never been bothered by the fact that gay men constitute a huge percentage of his beefcake calendar–buying fan base. In a world in which many homophobic athletes still worry about showering with gay teammates, Cohen is refreshingly free of sexual hang-ups—always willing to donate a signed jockstrap for auction or to be photographed in his underwear in support of his favorite causes: anti-bullying and the elimination of homophobia in sports.

Having retired from rugby in 2011, the married father of 4-year-old twins decided to create the Ben Cohen Stand Up Foundation (standupfoundation.com), a group dedicated to raising awareness of the long-term, damaging effects of bullying and homophobia.

“It’s about using sports icons at every level from international and professional to local small-town schools,” he says. “Coaches, teachers and players have to understand that there is always someone young and impressionable looking up to them. Our foundation asks them to look at bullying and homophobia and commit to combating them.”

His efforts are already paying off. He’s partnered with England’s Home Office and successfully urged many English sports teams to sign a charter that declares their intolerance for bullying, homophobia and transphobia.

“It’s fantastic what sports clubs can achieve in their own communities,” he says. “Homophobia and bullying begin with the earliest schooling. That is where we need to provide the most education. The whole infrastructure that molds a child’s feelings about sports and sexuality is where we should concen-trate our efforts to make sure that teachers and coaches are on board with our message of intolerance for bullying and homophobia.” —Tony Adams

Read the article here:

Open publication - Free publishing - More 2012

19 June 2012 / NAACP President and CEO to be part of Team DC's Night OUT at the Nationals

From FGG member organization Team DC, an exciting update on Night OUT at the Nationals on June 19:

Over 3,300 tickets have now been sold to the 8th Annual Night OUT at the Nationals! Will we break the record of 3,523 tickets?????

Tickets are still available for $18 (normally $22 at the box office) and here is how you can get yours:
Go to Nellie's Sports Bar where tickets are on sale at the downstairs main bar.
Go to www.nationals.com/nightout and get your tickets NOW. Online sales start at $18.

We are extremely pleased to announce that Benjamin Jealous, the President and CEO of the NAACP, will join us that night to deliver the official Line-Up Cards that evening. As you probably know, the NAACP is one of the nation's oldest and most important civil rights organizations and has come out in support of full marriage equality. Team DC is proud to be associated with the NAACP and appreciative of their support of the LGBT community. Come meet Mr. Jealous and thank him for his support!

Please be sure to be inside the ballpark no later than 6:30 PM to watch the pre-game ceremonies with our other Special Guests, including:
Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) will join us at the Night OUT on June 19 to throw out the First Pitch. Congressman Polis is a true fighter for our community and as one of only 4 openly gay Members of Congress, he is a great example of what can be accomplished when you are OUT....just like we all will be that night!
The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington will sing the National Anthem that night AND be recognized that evening as the recipient of the Team Spirit Award from the Washington Nationals in recognition of their tremendous contributions to the Night OUT and our community. Way to go Chorus!!!!
Sgt. Brett Parson will open the game with "PLAY BALL". Brett is a sergeant with the Metropolitan Police Department and is the former head of the Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit (GLLU). Brett has been a stalwart in our community for many years and we are excited to have him recognized that night.
We are also proud to have representatives of the AIDS Vaccine Trials Unit of NIH who will be at the Community Kiosk inside the ballpark that night. The work they do has a profound impact on our community. Thank You and let's hope they find some Nats fans who are interested in research trials!
And, don't forget, beers are only $5 up in our Scoreboard section up until the start of the game. Meet your friends and get there early and cheer loudly as representatives of our community are showcased throughout the ballpark that evening.


Be a part of the LARGEST LGBT Community Night in professional sports in the United States and see your first place Nats take on the first place Tampa Bay Rays

Cyd Ziegler on Stanford University Campus Pride award

From Stanford alumnus Cyd Ziegler in Outsports:


It was an honor to speak at the Celebration of LGBT Athletes at Stanford University last week, in recognition of the school’s placement on Campus Pride’s Out To Play Project list. Stanford Senior Associate Athletic Director Earl Koberlein was on hand to accept the Campus Pride award.

[...]

I also talked about the work Stanford had left to do in this area. Stanford isn’t about being “one of” the best, it’s about being the best. Athletes told me that while the campus is gay-friendly, it’s virtually a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” situation with the athletic department. While there isn’t outward homophobia, there isn’t an outward embracing of LGBT athletes either. The athletic department has long shied away from having LGBT sensitivity training for athletes and coaches. This event last week, taking place at Chuck Taylor Grove in the heart of the athletic department, was a beacon of hope for many of the athletes and alumni present.

[...]

While all of the speakers gave really fantastic (and thankfully short) talks, one particular speaker seemed to grab the hearts of the audience. Derek Liecty was a member of the Stanford soccer team. He graduated in 1954. It seemed he was on the verge of tears as he talked about what this event meant to him, almost 60 years after his graduation. The longtime Gay Games supporter used the opportunity to welcome all of the athletes to the Gay Games in Cleveland in 2014.

Read in full HERE.

FGG Honorary Life Member speaks at Stanford University

Campus Pride is the only national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in the USA for student leaders and campus groups working to create a safer college environment for LGBT students.

In conjunction with Compete Media, Campus Pride recently announced awards for ten US universities recognizing their athletic departments for being most supportive of gay and lesbian athletes. Among those is Stanford University.

Derek Liecty, an Honorary Life Member of the Federation of Gay Games and a winner of the Tom Waddell Award, is a graduated of Stanford (class of 1954), where he was the (of course closeted) captain of the varsity soccer team.

Derek Liecty (photo Joanne Sanders)

He was invited to the award ceremony at Stanford on 7 June 2012, where he spoke to the fifty out Stanford athletes who were in attendance. He described how emotional it was to have lived so long and finally see his university embracing gay and lesbian athletes. "This is something that would never have happened sixty years ago," Liecty said.

HERE.

Sean Avery joins Athlete Ally board

News from Athlete Ally:

Athlete Ally, a non-profit organization dedicated to challenging homophobia in sports, is pleased to announce that Sean Avery has joined the board of directors. Avery, a former NHL player and New York Ranger, will help further the mission of Athlete Ally by encouraging more straight athletes to start speaking out against homophobia in athletics.

“With few athletes feeling comfortable or safe enough to come out, a professional athlete ally like Sean Avery can make all the difference,” said Hudson Taylor, Athlete Ally Founder and Executive Director. “We look forward to working with Sean to make sport a space for everyone and empowering athletes everywhere to start using their voice as athlete allies.”


Keep reading HERE.

UCLA figure skaters and ice hockey players say "You Can Play"

UCLA ice hockey players and figure skaters join together in support of the You Can Play project, in the fight for respect in sports. Watch their You Can Play video below.

Ben Cohen profile

MetroSource magazine has an in-depth profile of Ben Cohen:

His StandUp foundation has become a major force for good in the lives of LGBT students. Now, Ben Cohen speaks to Metrosource about how he went from scoring rugby goals to fighting for kids’ rights.

If you’re a fan of international sports, you might know Ben Cohen as a British rugby star. If you’re an admirer of brawny, hairy-chested men, you may recognize him from his series of sexy pin-up calendars. But if you’re a member of the gay community, you’re probably most familiar with him as the founder of the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation, the organization he created to combat homophobia and bullying among schoolkids.

So how did this straight sportsman become a champion of gay kids’ rights? In some ways, the gay community chose Cohen. “While I was playing rugby, I realized that I had a gay following,” Cohen tells me. About six years ago, it was brought to his attention that — of his tens of thousands of Facebook fans — a vast majority of them were gay men. Cohen didn’t mind that these fans might like him more for his pecs than his performance on the field, but it did plant the seed of an idea: He wanted to do something to give back. “To be able to say, ‘Look guys, there’s more to me than — and I can’t believe I’m saying it — looks and a hairy chest,’” he says.

Keep reading HERE.

NHL players Jordan Eberle and Brian Elliott say "You Can Play"

From You Can Play:

NHL All-Stars Jordan Eberle of the Edmonton Oilers and Brian Elliott of the St. Louis Blues team up for respect for all athletes and fans - regardless of sexual orientation.

Oilers forward Eberle, a native of Regina, Saskatchewan, just finished his second season in the NHL with 76 points - his personal best.

Blues goalie Elliott, a native of Newmarket, Ontario, had a career-best season leading the NHL in save percentage and goals against average. Both Eberle and Elliott made their all-star debut at the 2012 NHL All-Star Game in Ottawa where their You Can Play messages were filmed.

These two deliver the simple but meaningful message, “If you can play, you can play.”

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Patrick Burke tells closeted athletes to trust their teammates

On the Our Group blog, Patrick Burke shares his insights after two years of advocacy as an ally:


In the two years that I have been doing outreach to the athletic community regarding LGBT athletes, fans, and coaches, I have been lucky enough to share the stage with fantastic representatives of the LGBT community: Openly gay coaches, administrators, team captains, record setters, leading scorers, All-Americans, and Olympians. They share their stories to our audience, usually college sports teams, with tremendous openness and honesty. I provide the straight ally’s perspective, which generally consists of me listing all the ways I screwed up before I knew how to treat the LGBT community with respect.

After the second or third “Invisible Athlete Forum”, I began to notice a pattern. At some point during our talks, while I was listing all the mistakes I had made, all of the LGBT athletes would list one universal mistake: “I wish I had given my straight teammates more credit for being accepting.”

We all know that locker rooms can be intimidating for LGBT athletes. The constant use of casual homophobia can intimidate anyone into staying in the closet for fear of being ostracized. This is the principle focus of the You Can Play Project- encouraging athletes to end casual homophobia and make the sports world safe for the gay community. But every single one of the athletes I have presented with has expressed their regret for not trusting their teammates to support them when they came out.

Keep reading HERE.

The Oakland As say "It Gets Better"

From the San Francisco Chronicle (h/t Outsports):

The [Oakland Athletics] became the latest sports team to post an "It Gets Better" video, two weeks after starter Brandon McCarthy decried homophobia at baseball stadiums via Twitter.

McCarthy, left-hander Dallas Braden and second baseman Jemile Weeks appear on the video, along with stadium in-game host Kara Tsuboi.

The It Gets Better Project supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teens who are dealing with bullying, harassment and feelings of isolation, with many celebrities and athletes providing messages that there is a brighter future ahead.

"I'm glad the A's were on board in helping get this out there, because we definitely wanted to get this off the ground," McCarthy said.

In the video, Braden says, "We are speaking for the entire Oakland Athletics organization when we say there is no place in society for hatred and bullying against anyone."

On Friday, Weeks said he was happy to participate in the video because he thinks it's important to use any platform as a public figure to try to help those in need, including teens who feel like outsiders. "Everyone should feel comfortable being themselves," Weeks said. "So I wanted to tell kids to be confident and to know they have support."

McCarthy said he heard from many gay and lesbian A's fans after his antihomophobia tweet and his subsequent remarks to Gwen Knapp in The Chronicle, and he said, "It's good for teams to do things that are important to their communities."


View the video below, and visit our "It Gets Better" page HERE.

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NCAA features Hudson Taylor and Athlete Ally

Hudson Taylor made the home page of the NCAA website! The NCAA is the governing body for university sport in the USA. Here's their report on his work:

How does the best wrestler in the room wind up getting bullied?

How does a 197-pound titan become the butt of locker room jokes? How is a three-time All-American excluded, his cause so unwelcomed by teammates that they hide his headgear?

The gay jokes. The homophobic slurs, those comments uttered so habitually on the practice mats that no one stops to notice what they actually mean or whom they hurt. They stung Hudson Taylor.

Wear an equal rights sticker on your helmet during a match and we’ll have a hard time cheering for you, some of his Maryland teammates warned. Their words clawed at Taylor, tore at him the way their words tore at so many athletes never bold enough to speak out before. He wondered if by taking this stance he was actually hindering his cause, if his teammates were becoming more homophobic simply because he asked them not to be.

“Sometimes, 18- to 22-year-old young men don’t realize how much an impact their words have,” said Maryland wrestling coach Kerry McCoy. “Hudson brought that issue to the forefront for our team.”

Keep reading HERE.

5 May 2012 / Premiere of "Legalize Gay" on LOGO, featuring Gay Games Ambassador Brian Sims

"Legalize Gay" - co-produced with Rogue Culture Productions and Logo television - is a documentary that captures the courage and conviction of a new generation of activists -- gay and straight -- as they campaign for LGBT equality in marriage, non-discrimination in sports and at work, same-sex sex education, standing up to bullying and forging inclusive college campuses. They often take these stands in parts of the country hostile to gay and lesbian rights. A movie by Christopher Hines.

The film features Gay Games Ambassador Brian Sims, as well as athlete allies Hudson Taylor and Ben Cohen.

www.legalizegaymovie.com

Premieres on MTV's Logo network, 8 p.m., Saturday, May 5, 2012

En français / Louis Nicollin ou les risques d'exploiter un homophobe "réformé"

(English summary: Louis Nicollin is the president of the Montpellier football club. He is known for his reform as an ally in the fight against homophobia, particularly in association with the media-friendly Paris Foot Gay football club, after a series of homophobic statements. Alas, he has just suffered a relapse, saying that, afraid of the outcome of a key match, he chose not to attend, because, "yes, I'm a pansy." Paris Foot gay responded "I guess he just came out", while the sponsor of the Pierre-Guénin prize awarded to Nicollin this year stated: "I'm happy to learn the news."
UPDATE: After making light of this latest bout of homophobia, Pierre Guénin has decided to withdraw the prize from Louis Nicollin... and award the 2000 euros to Paris Foot Gay, the organization that promoted Nicollin's "reform". This could seem a bit odd to many...) 

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Louis Nicollin, président grande gueule du club de football de Montpellier, réputé pour ses remarques homophobes, s'étaient racheté une conduite en participant aux actions de Paris Foot Gay, "réforme" récompensée par l'attribution du Prix Pierre-Guénin contre l'homophobie.


Yagg rappelle cette histoire, relate sa récente rechute, et donne l'avis de certains :

«ET OUI, JE SUIS UN PÉDÉ!»
Déjà épinglé par les associations LGBT pour des propos homophobes, le patron du Montpellier Hérault Sport Club, affectueusement surnommé Loulou par ses fans, avait pris de bonnes résolutions: signature de la Charte contre l'homophobie et participation au clip contre l'homophobie dans le sport de l'association Paris Foot Gay. Une participation qui lui a valu de recevoir récemment le prix Pierre Guénin contre l'homophobie, provoquant un début de controverse (lire Louis Nicollin, lauréat d’un prix contre l’homophobie? Seriously?). Louis Nicollin, homophobe repenti? Un beau tableau qui a volé en éclats jeudi dernier quand Loulou a récidivé au micro de RMC: «Au dernier moment j’ai eu peur, je ne suis pas allé au Vélodrome voir OM-Montpellier. Eh oui, je suis un pédé!», a-t-il déclaré pour expliquer pourquoi il ne s’est pas rendu au match entre Montpellier et l’OM.

«RAVI D'APPRENDRE PAREILLE NOUVELLE»
Contacté, Pierre Guénin, fondateur du prestigieux prix du même nom, choisit de répliquer sur le ton de l'humour: «Ravi d'apprendre pareille nouvelle. Que mon prix Pierre Guénin contre l'homophobie ait pu convaincre Louis Nicollin à ce point là; je vais finir par croire au Bon Dieu. Mon cher Louis, viens recevoir ton prix à l'Hôtel de Ville de Paris. Le 14 mai. J'y recevrai moi-même la médaille de Chevalier des Arts et des lettres de la main de l'adjoint de Delanoë, Christophe Girard. Il y aura du beau monde et nous ferons la fête».

«IL N'EST PLUS HOMOPHOBE»
Du côté du Paris Foot Gay, on rit plutôt jaune, et on fait le dos rond. L'association, pourtant prompte à dégainer contre l'homophobie dans le monde du foot n'a pas cru bon de réagir à la sortie de la star de son dernier clip. Volonté de ne pas ternir l'image de l'une de ses plus belles prises? «Il a fait son coming out», plaisante Pascal Brethes, président de l'association, qui préfère relativiser l'incident: «Nous n'avons pas réagi car il nous a prouvé à travers ses actions qu'il n'est plus homophobe. On est quand même très loin de ses anciennes déclarations violentes». Tout en reconnaissant que ces derniers propos font tâches: «C'est dans la logique du personnage, un humour dingo et profondément douteux». Bref, avant même de recevoir son prix, le lauréat 2012 de la lutte contre l'homophobie a déjà du plomb dans l'aile…

En revanche, la FSGL et son club de foot le FC Paris Arc en ciel condamnent... ce qui nous semble plutôt normal. On ne peut pas condamner les homophobes dans le milieu du sport si on exempte ses "alliés" de sa critique.


Sur Facebook, la FSGL affiche : Nous sommes déçus de ce nouveau dérapage de Louis Nicollin qui avait pourtant signé la Charte contre l'homophobie du Paris Foot Gay...+


Et le Football Club Paris Arc en ciel : Le FC PAEC condamne les propos de Louis Nicollin qui sont indignes de la confiance récente que lui avait fait une partie de la communauté LGBT pour lutter contre l'homophobie!

Boston NHL player on playing with a gay teammate

 

In an exclusive interview with Boston Spirit, Shawn Thornton of the Boston Bruins  tells what it might be like if one of his fellow hockey players came out:

By David Zimmerman

Shawn Thornton loves Boston. Boston loves Shawn Thornton.

That has been the case since the day Thornton arrived in town to play for our Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins.

Thornton, 34, is a bruising six-foot-two-inch, 217-pound, left winger for the Bruins who throws punches as hard as his slap shot. In fact, more than a few unfortunate opponents would argue that the punches are actually much harder. He is known as the team’s ‘enforcer,’ the player assigned to protect his teammates and often fights to do so.

You wouldn’t necessarily think that Thornton, the enforcer from a “blue collar, industrial town about 20 minutes outside of Toronto” would be first in line for a sit-down with an LGBT publication like Boston Spirit. You would be wrong. Thornton met with Boston Spirit recently for an exclusive one-on-one interview.

Boston Spirit: What do you think would happen if one of your teammates announced he was gay?

Shawn Thornton: Honestly, my teammates are like family so there would be support. I would personally [support] him and I’m pretty sure everyone in our locker room would. We’ve got a pretty good bunch of guys. I don’t think there would be any issues.

Keep reading HERE.

1 April 2012 / In italiano / Torneo di calcio "Scendi in campo contro l'omofobia"

From BergamoNews.it:

Si terrà domenica al Villaggio degli Sposi la terza edizione del torneo di calcio a 7 “Scendi in campo contro l’omofobia”, manifestazione che vedrà la partecipazione di tantissime squadre provenienti da tutta Italia.

L’evento nasce nel 2010 per volontà di un gruppo di amiche che, alla luce dei continui episodi di omofobia a cui la cronaca ci ha ormai tristemente abituato, decidono di organizzare un momento di aggregazione per mandare un forte segnale contro la discriminazione di gay, lesbiche e transgender. Laura, Elisa, Ilaria e Stefano, partendo praticamente da zero e senza nessuna associazione alle spalle, riescono a coinvolgere tantissimi movimenti che aderiscono alla manifestazione, ottenendo tra l’altro la gratuità del campo da parte del comune orobico. E’ infatti solamente grazie ad un gruppo creato appositamente su Facebook ed al passaparola che la voce si sparge, facendo ormai dell’evento una giornata attesa da tanti per stare insieme e divertirsi, senza alcun pregiudizio di sorta. Oltre all’evento in sé, lo scopo principale è ovviamente quello di sensibilizzare i cittadini bergamaschi in merito alla violenza omofoba, sia verbale che fisica, presente anche nello sport, a partire proprio dal calcio.

Lo scorso anno, hanno partecipato tra l’altro al torneo squadre giunte appositamente per l’occasione da Milano e addirittura da Firenze. In particolare dal capoluogo lombardo è giunta la Mediolanum, squadra composta esclusivamente da calciatori gay e nata proprio per dimostrare come l’omosessualità possa benissimo convivere con il pallone.

Quest’anno, sono previste alcune novità, come ad esempio la presenza al torneo di un banchetto di Amnesty International e di ArcilesbicaxxBergamo. Il tutto con il supporto tecnico della Uisp (Unione Italiana Sport per Tutti) di Bergamo, da sempre in prima fila per difendere il diritto allo sport di tutti i cittadini, nessuno escluso: “Siamo molto contenti di dare il nostro appoggio a questa manifestazione – afferma Stefano Buzzi, presidente Lega Calcio UISP Bergamo –. Un plauso va sicuramente allo sforzo delle organizzatrici, che hanno dimostrato come sia sufficiente un po’ di volontà per potere mandare dei messaggi a tutti coloro che quotidianamente si macchiano di episodi di razzismo, più o meno velato, nei confronti del movimento gay”.

La giornata di domenica prossima sarà dedicata alla memoria di Daniel Zanubio, il ragazzo cileno di appena 24 anni che mercoledì scorso non ce l’ha fatta, dopo essere stato massacrato e torturato dai neonazisti in quanto omosessuale: “E’ bene ricordarlo: la violenza omofoba coinvolge tutti – scrivono gli organizzatori del torneo sul loro blog –. E’ una piaga sociale da cui nessuno è escluso, e non una mera questione da attribuire alla minoranza omosessuale. Ringraziamo quindi tutte le persone eterosessuali che si sentono coinvolte, che lottano per i diritti di tutti e non fanno dell’orientamento sessuale motivo di discriminazione o di offesa. Grazie per sostenerci ad ogni nostro passo”.

1 August 2012 / First teams register for Stockholm Unity Cup

The first three teams have registered for Stockholm's Unity Cup, a football tournament hosted by Stockholm Snipers IF and Råsunda FC. During Stockholm Pride, the HBT- team Stockholm Snipers IF together with the straight team Råsunda FC are hosting a football tournament 1-5 August 2012. Gay teams from all over Europe are invited along with some straight local Stockholm teams with the goal of building bridges between the communities and creating unity.

Find all info on their Facebook page HERE.

Here are the first three teams registered:

Number 1 is of course host team Stockholm Snipers:

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Second is Hamburg Ballboys:

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Third to register is Iceland's Styrmir: