our boys who play this grand old game
Jason Akermanis says, Stay In The Closet.
About ten days ago, an Australian Rules football player [who I have a long running and strong dislike for], wrote this article in Melbourne’s biggest newspaper. The response was encouraging - everybody who is anybody in football said they didn’t agree with the sentiments, and that he was way out of line. The overwhelming response from anybody who’s spoken has been that it’s ‘OK To Be Gay!’, that they should be able to tell their teammates, and they shouldn’t be bullied into keeping quiet because their team won’t survive it. This is all great, but. I’m not sure I believe that everyone is as accepting as they seem to be.
I know I can be a cynic, and I am in NO WAY saying that he’s right, they SHOULDN’T come out. But I’m so sick of everybody talking about Jason Akermanis’ opinion, and that’s all. They’re not dealing with the issue. You think Akermanis is the only arsehole playing footy? The only homophobic snotrag who has his head so far up his arse he thinks gay players would be checking him out? No way. For every gay player in the AFL, there is probably a crowd of homophobes. I can touch my mates wherever I want because I’m straight and he’s straight so it doesn’t mean anything! But if one man can love another man, no way, out of the question, get him out of my club …
There’s also the attitude of, who cares let’s play football. That’s fine. I’m sure a lot of gay guys feel that way too. But I am yet to see people talking about, or I have yet to see another article written about the act of coming out as a man who is strong, and masculine, when so many people see gay men as the opposite. No one is talking about the real issue - which certainly isn’t Akermanis or whether he is going to be punished for his words - and that is society’s consciousness. Where’s the education? The shift in mentality? Let’s stop everyone thinking of gay men purely as sexual beings. Jason Akermanis is worried about men coming out purely for the physical sense of it. What about gay men loving football, and loving his mates, and being part of a team? Is all that wiped out because he also loves men?
I know I’m just preaching about issues that have been alive for years, but this has come to OUR game now, and it has people talking, so I just want to see people talking about the REAL issues. I want to talk about the men who are proud of who they are, and the men that are afraid, and the fact that they can’t come together, and work it out, because It’s OK To Be Gay! but, not really, we won’t ask and you won’t tell.
About ten days ago, an Australian Rules football player [who I have a long running and strong dislike for], wrote this article in Melbourne’s biggest newspaper. The response was encouraging - everybody who is anybody in football said they didn’t agree with the sentiments, and that he was way out of line. The overwhelming response from anybody who’s spoken has been that it’s ‘OK To Be Gay!’, that they should be able to tell their teammates, and they shouldn’t be bullied into keeping quiet because their team won’t survive it. This is all great, but. I’m not sure I believe that everyone is as accepting as they seem to be.
I know I can be a cynic, and I am in NO WAY saying that he’s right, they SHOULDN’T come out. But I’m so sick of everybody talking about Jason Akermanis’ opinion, and that’s all. They’re not dealing with the issue. You think Akermanis is the only arsehole playing footy? The only homophobic snotrag who has his head so far up his arse he thinks gay players would be checking him out? No way. For every gay player in the AFL, there is probably a crowd of homophobes. I can touch my mates wherever I want because I’m straight and he’s straight so it doesn’t mean anything! But if one man can love another man, no way, out of the question, get him out of my club …
There’s also the attitude of, who cares let’s play football. That’s fine. I’m sure a lot of gay guys feel that way too. But I am yet to see people talking about, or I have yet to see another article written about the act of coming out as a man who is strong, and masculine, when so many people see gay men as the opposite. No one is talking about the real issue - which certainly isn’t Akermanis or whether he is going to be punished for his words - and that is society’s consciousness. Where’s the education? The shift in mentality? Let’s stop everyone thinking of gay men purely as sexual beings. Jason Akermanis is worried about men coming out purely for the physical sense of it. What about gay men loving football, and loving his mates, and being part of a team? Is all that wiped out because he also loves men?
I know I’m just preaching about issues that have been alive for years, but this has come to OUR game now, and it has people talking, so I just want to see people talking about the REAL issues. I want to talk about the men who are proud of who they are, and the men that are afraid, and the fact that they can’t come together, and work it out, because It’s OK To Be Gay! but, not really, we won’t ask and you won’t tell.