Helen Duffett

Lynne Featherstone launches Government campaign to tackle homophobia in sport

By | Mon 14th March 2011 - 6:05 pm

Lynne Featherstone, Minister for Equalities, has launched Charter for Action – a set of principles to help stamp out homophobia and transphobia in sport and make sport a welcoming environment for LGBT people.

The Pink Paper reports:

A groundbreaking gay sports charter which will invite national governing bodies of sports to commit to tackling homophobia was launched yesterday.

The announcement was made by Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone as she attended the Sheffield Eagles rugby league game – a match against Widnes Vikings which saw players take a stand against homophobia by wearing specially made kits bearing the slogan ‘Homophobia: Tackle It!’.

Commenting, Lynne Featherstone said,

Sport is still seen by many as an institution where there are barriers we have yet to tear down, because there are so few openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people who feel comfortable on the field.

Professional sports have the ability to change attitudes, on the field as well as in society. That is why it is important we break through this last remaining taboo and tackle it head on so that LGBT people feel welcome in all sports.

The Liberal Democrats have long pledged to tackle prejudice everywhere and today’s launch of the Charter for Action is an important step in ensuring in sport homophobic prejudices become a thing of the past.

Read more by or more about , , , or .
This entry was posted in News.
Advert

2 Comments

  • Christine Headley 15th Mar '11 - 6:01pm

    I was pleased to see that the Surrey (and England reserve) wicket keeper Steven Davies has come out. Eighteen first class counties employ about 20 cricketers each so, if 10% of people are gay, you would expect about 35 gay first class cricketers.

  • Ray 24th Apr '14 - 11:51pm

    How terrible, all this “homophobia” in sport.

Post a Comment

Lib Dem Voice welcomes comments from everyone but we ask you to be polite, to be on topic and to be who you say you are. You can read our comments policy in full here. Please respect it and all readers of the site.

To have your photo next to your comment please signup your email address with Gravatar.

Your email is never published. Required fields are marked *

*
*
Please complete the name of this site, Liberal Democrat ...?

Advert

Recent Comments

  • Roland
    But what are "low taxes" other than just a sound-bite? With hindsight we can see focusing on "low-taxes" - like the tories have for many decades, has only re...
  • nigel hunter
    We cannot fund the needs of the people and country if we are a low tax party....
  • Jonathan Calder
    Do we want to be a low-tax party? It seems the leadership wants to fight the next election on that basis, but I detect no great enthusiasm for the idea among th...
  • Nick Baird
    @Alex @Rees - I was referring to the quoted surveys by VPZ and E-Cigarette Direct, who have a vested interest in selling vapes and are effectively claiming that...
  • Rees Southern
    Hi David. Further to my earlier response, I forwarded your concerns to someone who has worked with tobacco harm reduction organisations. This was their response...