Justin Campaign Praises BBC Documentary On Homophobia In Sport

by Rhonda J Mangus | May 25, 2010 at 02:45 pm

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Inside Sport - The Last Taboo Praised by Justin Campaign

Last night's BBC documentary on homophobia in the sporting world, called Inside Sport - The Last Taboo, has been praised by the Justin Campaign. The Justin Campaign was founded to demonstrate that ten years after English footballer Justin Fashanu's tragic suicide in 1998, homophobia is still hugely prevalent in the world of professional football.

The campaign's director, Darren Ollerton, told the BBC: "The programme raised some very valid points around the support a professional player can expect on coming out."

Documentary's Creator Withstood Name-Calling To Make The Program

In his own words, BBC Sport presenter Mark Chapman said he had been called, among other things, "naive, stupid and brave" for making the program which featured out gay sports stars, but the name-calling to Chapman was nothing compared to some of the name-calling suffered by the people he was interviewing.

Featured In The Documentary

[T]ennis legend Martina Navratilova, former Wales Rugby Union International and now rugby league player Gareth Thomas, British former basketball player John Amaechi and All-Ireland hurler Donal Og Cusack.

Gay football club London Titans were also featured playing a GFSN friendly match against Nottingham Ballbois.

Will The Sport's Last Taboo Ever Be Broken?