Justin Braun
The website Gay4soccer has started a program to get pro soccer players — mostly from Major League Soccer — to declare their support for gay rights. There are already 12 active players on the list in addition to front office and media people and fan groups.
First, we have launched an Allies Page, where we will keep track of players and other folks who have publicly said they are allies or otherwise done work in support of the GLBT community. We’ll be contacting players and others via Twitter and other means and encouraging them to become a part of the page. If you are or know of someone in soccer who wants to be or should be on the page, let us know on Twitter or by email with a link to an article or Tweet that we can include on the page. We’ll be using the hashtag #soccerally as well to keep track of Tweets.
Justin Braun
The website Gay4soccer has started a program to get pro soccer players — mostly from Major League Soccer — to declare their support for gay rights. There are already 12 active players on the list in addition to front office and media people and fan groups.
First, we have launched an Allies Page, where we will keep track of players and other folks who have publicly said they are allies or otherwise done work in support of the GLBT community. We’ll be contacting players and others via Twitter and other means and encouraging them to become a part of the page. If you are or know of someone in soccer who wants to be or should be on the page, let us know on Twitter or by email with a link to an article or Tweet that we can include on the page. We’ll be using the hashtag #soccerally as well to keep track of Tweets.
The second thing we’ll be doing is asking personalities in the soccer community to participate in events that show support for the GLBT community. This month, the NOH8 Campaign is holding a photo shoot in Los Angeles and their first-ever one in Salt Lake City.
It’s a cool idea and a great use of social media. Many of the allies have already appeared on Outsports for their NoH8 promotions. This raises visibility in a growing sport and makes it seem cool (since overt homophobia is no longer cool in sports). Of course, what would be the best promotion is to have an openly gay player, getting support from his straight teammates and competitors.
