AFL and GAY PRIDE

[Grazee]

Last Saturday night I sat in front of
my TV manfully trying to stem a flow of tears. I was watching the preliminaries to the Aussie Rules footy match between Saint Kilda and the Sydney Swans. Now I suspect most of you out there are not fans of Australian football but this match and this night was special . . . . very special.

As a theme it celebrated Gay Pride.Fans were seen wearing rainbow scarves and the 50 meter arcs were adorned with
rainbow colors. Testimonials were given by popular footy starts as to the need for acceptance of gay people. Leading these testimonials was a young man, Jason Ball who just last year had 'outed' himself as a gay footy player. Also in the forefront was Tynon Winmar who played for Saint Kilda and whose further claim to fame was being the son of Nicky Winmar who in the late 1990's declared his pride at being an aborigine. Now he was there supporting his gay son.

There was verbal acknowledgement that gay people were major sufferers of Depression and had a high incidence of suicide.

The match was held in Etihad Stadium where I had sat in past years flinching as fans yelled diatribes such as ' poofter'; ' queer'; 'faggot'; 'pansy 'and 'cock-sucker'; usually with some offensive description accompanying the insult.

So, in many ways I must rejoice in the mere fact that such an event could have taken place. I wholeheartedly applaud both
the Saint Kilda and Sydney Swans clubs for taking the stance that they have. To my knowledge they are the only major sporting clubs in Australia who have declared their abhorrence to Gay discrimination. I hope other clubs will follow suit in all sporting fields.

But to me, I still feel the pain of yesteryears. I can still remember the awful feeling at hearing those words and the laughter that often followed. Usually, I would be sitting beside my son and his family.

I know I must move on. I know I must forgive and forget . . . but I neither can nor will! Never!

[white knight]

Hi Grazed

Yes it was a great thing to see, the continued momentum of the society snowball of acceptance.

There is now, I guess, a minority of people left that will take more time to change or never will.

While it is a good thing to forgive others there are some things that are unforgivable. So, having said that, and being a male that once roamed this land like a sheep full of homophobia....I share your joy.

Simply wonderful to watch wasn't it.

Tony WK

[Paul]

Hi Grazee,

We're almost there... Acceptance!

Just like many things there are people who will have different views for many reasons.

Those people at the MCG and at Etihad who yell abuse have definitely reduced, and to have a match dedicated to gay equality is sublime. Those who judge us have run out of differences to judge. Those who hate have awakened to the similarity of love. Those who use a third party belief system have run out of the ability to cherry pick parts of the system to their advantage and are realising differences are really similarities.

Some of us carry our own judgment which previously protected us, but now hurts us.

What I'm saying here is we don't have to forget past wrongs, we don't have to forgive past wrongs but we can celebrate new beginnings with those who choose enlightenment and love and surround ourselves with supportive people. This is the majority now.

Paul

[Jason_Ball]

Hi Grazee

I was so uplifted to read your reaction to the broadcast of the Pride Game.

I was lucky enough to work closely with both the St Kilda Football Club and the Sydnet Swans in the lead-up to the game, including with St Kilda's CEO Matt Finnis who was one of the most passionate drivers behind the concept.

I have heard so many stories from people within the LGBTI community who were positively impacted by the game, including many who attended their first-ever game of AFL football as a result of it. So it was wonderful to see your post come up here in the beyondblue forums, and to know that it has reached people all over the country through the media as well.

I encourage you to check out the AFL's highlights package from the event if you haven't seen it yet. For anyone who wasn't lucky enough to see the game I think it really captures the emotion and joy from the event which was a game-changing moment for our community:

All the best,
Jason Ball
Pride Game Ambassador / beyondblue Ambassador

[Grazee]

Hi Jason . . . sorry for not responding sooner; I'm a writer and when I get creative I forget the outside world. I must say I admire you; I lived in Sydney when Ian Thompson [Manly Sea eagles] came out. It was a brave move and to this day I don't know what negative impact his coming out produced. Nor do I know what positives were associated with his disclosure.

To anyone, coming out is difficult; when I read about you I immediately felt pride; at the same time hoping that you didn't suffer much trauma after the announcement. If you were associated with the Pride game then we all owe you a big thank you.

I'm in my senior years now and my earnest wish is that young people don't have to cop the abuse that my generation had to live with on a daily basis.

Thank you for your stand and your courage

[white knight]

I thought it was apt yo mention another TV show here on this thread.

"Married at first sight" had a gay couple that "married".

Unfortunately they split on their honeymoon.

Yours truly and my loving wife were crying our hearts out. The pain those guys felt, their expectations, their kindness, their quest for love...was amazing.

Cheers

Tony WK