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role of clubs and players
“I’m not a gay man, so I can’t understand what he has been through in his life and it’s really easy for people like me, who are privileged, straight, White males to have an opinion on any of this, but none of us will ever know what it’s like for him and I just give him so much credit.” “I am so impressed by him as a human being, first to have the courage to come out in a very macho sport, second of all to have the level of security he has as a human being and an individual and then just the way he handles himself on a day-to-day basis.” “I look these guys in the eye every day, spend six hours a day with them and to see the pain they go through was really, really, hurtful. So we just decided that we have to take a stand, we can’t be okay with this behaviour.” Landon Donovan, Coach San Diego Loyal on the decision of San Diego to leave the pitch after their player Collin Martin was the target of a homophobic slur by an opposing player Source: CNN, 2020
“Walking off the field I was pretty distraught. I was just embarrassed that my sexuality had anything to do with the outcome of a game or us forfeiting it, so to me it was really a bit too much to handle. And I was just pissed that we had to deal with this!” “Personally I was fine, but I just wanted something to be done for what I knew wasn’t right,” he continues. “And I think part of me being a role model and advocate for the community is, I can’t stand up against hate at all levels of the game and sport if I‘m not going to stick up for myself on the field, right?” “Listen, what he said to me didn’t hurt me to the point where I wanted to not play, but I knew I couldn’t just stand around and have that be something that is said on the field to me.” Collin Martin, San Diego Loyal Source: The Guardian, 2020
Photo credit: imago images / ZUMA Wire