LGBT in Sport: How Blockchain Decentralization Can Encourage Equality within in the game
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and other non heterosexual athletes have faced intolerance from their peers due to the heteronormativity that exists within the sporting world that cultivates from their school days. The world is changing and with the legalisation of homosexual marriage within major nations globally, it remains shocking that the number of openly LGBT+ athletes are so few. In this article we will explore the history of LGBT+ within sports, the fight to discourage homophobia and how blockchain decentralization can encourage equality for minorities overall within the whole sports industry.
The western world is changing for the better and people are now more free to live their lives as they so wish. We now live in a society that allows the everyday person to be who they are and who they want to be. Life is short and intolerance of others is becoming a thing of the past and more people than ever are allowed to live in freedom regardless of their religion, race, sexuality, gender and more. There are still fundamental problems and society is far from perfect but the progress made in the last 100 years or so is a step in the right direction. The sports industry still seems to be slacking and only in most recent years are we seeing real steps to kick out racism, anti semitism and homophobia.
It is believed that homophobia in sports commences in the playground. The sports world is mainly dominated by alpha males and they all follow the routes of generations before them by displaying behaviour that in today’s accepting society would be deemed as homophobic. It will come to no surprise that only a very small minority of athletes are openly gay despite the fact that studies show that every 1 in 10 human beings on the planet will be a part of the LGBT+ community.
When you look at the history of openly gay athletes, the lack of opening LGBT+ in professional sport becomes even less shocking. The most famous case being that of English footballer Justin Fashanu, an incredible sporting talent who excelled at boxing and football from a young age. Justin Fashanu went professional in the world of football at a time where the English first division lacked black players and had only become more accepting due to Ron Atkinson and his West Bromwich Albion team of the 1970s. It might seem less fitting to know that Justin Fashanu made his debut for Norwich in 1979 against this West Bromwich Albion side. His amazing showcasing of skills, phenominal goalscoring record and silky dribbles gained the attention of major football teams globally and Fashanu became the first ever £1 million signing of a black player when he transferred to Brian Clough’s European Cup winning Nottingham Forest side. Fashanu, who would have been used to intolerance and prejudice due to his race was also hiding a much bigger secret — he was gay. He was unable to hide his true self and secretly would visit gay bars in Nottingham and party in an environment where he felt he could be himself.
Brian Clough was a very hands on manager and incredibly outspoken. He recalled in his autobiography of his experience with Justin Fashanu when he had heard rumours that Justin had been visiting gay bars.
“‘Where do you go if you want a loaf of bread?’ I asked him. ‘A baker’s, I suppose.’ ‘Where do you go if you want a leg of lamb?’ ‘A butcher’s.’ ‘So why do you keep going to that bloody poofs’ club?”‘
Today, these words and this anecdote would seem hard to believe but thirty years ago the world was very different and although outrageous it gives you a snippet of the environment within sports clubs at the time. Fashanu was quickly sold and hid his sexuality until it would be exposed and he would have to change club again and again and again until 19 football clubs later in 15 years he retired from the game. He knew he couldn’t live his life in secret anymore and made the decision to come out publicly to the British media hoping to help other homosexuals within sport live more freely and hoping he would receive total acceptance. This was not the case and unfortunately even his own family would not accept him including his brother — ex Wimbledon ‘Crazy Gang’ member John, who publicly criticised and disowned him, a move he now admits to deeply regretting.
Justin Fashanu’s life ended in tragedy, he committed suicide in 1998 after wrongly believing he was accused of an incident in the United States. His note saying ‘I do not want to give any more embarrassment to my friends and family’.
To any ‘millennial’, this story seems unbelievable — we have grown up in a world where we have LGBT+ friends, LGBT+ family and LGBT+ acquaintances. If we take a deeper thought into the world of football, Fashanu’s horrendous experience is still lasting as we are yet to have any major top flight footballer who has openly ‘come out’ during his playing days. Of world renowned footballers — only Thomas Hitzlsperger has publicly revealed his true sexuality since his retirement.
Today, in other sports, we have more high prominent LGBT+ athletes and in recent years, there are iconic gay sports people who have dominated in their chosen sport. In particular, Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova, who dominated women’s tennis for decades. We have seen Jason Collins become the first ever openly gay male NBA basketball star, boxer Orlando Cruz told the world he was gay, Mark Foster and Ian Thorpe who dominated swimming have come to terms with their sexuality and Wales Rugby Union captain Gareth Thomas made the headlines when he became to first major rugby player to come out.
Gareth Thomas feels that the reason athletes are reluctant to reveal their true sexuality is due to homophobia that is still underlying within sport. According to Thomas, coming out was an important moment for his teammates as well as himself. He believed that rugby, along with other sports are riddled with homophobic language as well as humour and jokes about homosexuality which prevents people admitting how they feel within themselves.
A survey conducted by onthefields.com, saw that Thomas’s claims were far more true than originally anticipated. 80% of participants in their survey witnessed or experienced first hand homophobia in a sporting environment and 78% believed that gay people would not be safe as a participant or even a spectator at a sporting event. These numbers are incredibly high and how can it be tackled?
Campaigns such as ‘The Rainbow Lace’ campaign by Stonewall are helping, teams such as Arsenal and Liverpool encouraged their players to wear the laces to tackle homophobia across the sport. This alongside the support of high profile players such as ex Manchester United goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard and outspoken hardman Joey Barton helped give out the strong message that LGBT+ people should be accepted and included within sports.
Another way to support LGBT+ athletes is by showing them that they are welcome and supported by the supporters and fans that love them dearly. Blockchain decentralization is a solution that can pave the way for others in the fight for equality. Platforms such as Globatalent offer fans the opportunity to connect closer with their favourite athletes with the help of blockchain technology.
The connection that the platform brings offers a deeper understanding and connection for the athletes from the fans and this could be a way of reducing homophobia in sport. If one of the athletes who use platforms like Globatalent is openly gay, the project will ensure that they are given the same level of exposure and respect that all heterosexual athletes will be given. Globatalent will ensure that their blockchain platform will allow their athletes to be themselves and will support anyone and everyone regardless of their race, religion, gender or sexuality and help them get to professional status in their chosen sport regardless.
Blockchain decentralization is a way of making everyone feel complete and connected and together. This is one of the best ways to kick out intolerance in any form and even stronger when you see that the world of sport is still fairly behind.
The Globatalent platform encourages fair play and equality to all and would offer support to any athlete who have fears or struggles with being a part of any minority. The blockchain technology involved helps brings transparency and clarity to the financial side of sports but the project overall will bring transparency, clarity and equality to whole of sports.
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