05 Apr 2016
Sport Select Committee launches homophobia inquiry
BY Matthew Campelli
An inquiry into homophobia in sport has been launched by the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, and is calling for written submissions.
The inquiry follows a similar piece of work launched by the committee, titled Racism in Football, which found that homophobia was emerging as a bigger problem that other forms of discrimination.
“With this in mind, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee is holding an inquiry to examine the issue of homophobia specifically, and to take into account a broader range of sports beyond football,” said a committee statement. “It is notable that there are currently no openly gay footballers in Scotland and England’s professional divisions and homophobic abuse remains commonplace at matches and online.”
The committee wants to receive submissions from interested parties concerning the experiences of gay sportsmen and sportswomen, the approach of sports governing bodies, how homophobia is tackled in schools, and if football has a problem with homophobic discrimination compared to other sports.
CMS Committee chair Jesse Norman said: “Sport is hugely important to many people, but it is clear that homophobia remains a serious issue across a wide range of British sports. The committee intends to examine why this is so and what can be done to address it.
“We are particularly interested in looking at the possible differences between sports, the sports governing bodies, and between the experiences of sportsmen and sportswomen.”
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