GUEST BLOG - Musa Okwonga and "Love, Against Homophobia".

My name's Musa Okwonga, and I'm a poet, musician and football writer (and once a keen player; I played for Stonewall FC for a couple of years, as a holding midfielder who ran forward too often.) This music video, “Love, Against Homophobia”, began life as a poem that I wrote in November 2009. I had just returned from Amsterdam, which has just about the friendliest gay scene on the planet, when I read of the rape and murder of Eudy Simelane, a South African footballer and lesbian activist. I was sickened both by the story and the fact that life could be so arbitrary – that you could be subjected to such horror merely by accident of birth. And so, listening to an appropriately angry piece of music (in this case, “Beaten Metal” by Antibalas), I put the finishing touches to the poem, with Simelane’s plight firmly in mind. A year later I read of the murder of David Kato, the gay activist who hails from my parents’ homeland of Uganda, and it was around then that we set the words to music, knowing that this was a theme that deserved wider attention. (“We” were The King’s Will, a two-man outfit where I wrote the words and Giles Hayter – a multitalented schoolfriend of mine, who is a painter, producer, composer and mathematician – made the electronica that would accompany my verse.) I recorded my vocal acapella, and Giles built a beat underneath it that was subtle, stirring and choral, before surging into something upbeat and triumphal. We advertised online for an animator who could bring life to the work, and that was when we were lucky enough to find Jae Hwang, a Korean animator working in London, who created the stunning 3-D video that you can now see on YouTube. Jae’s work on this was remarkable; he completed the video in a relatively short space of time, and contacted us halfway through the process to send us some stills of the final piece, which were so beautiful that we immediately selected one of them as the cover of our debut album. We also handcuffed ourselves to him and told him never to leave us (well, that’s not true, but he’s currently making the video for the lead single of our next album).

So there you have it: “Love, Against Homophobia”. I personally felt there were too few songs of an affirming nature when it came to gay rights, and so we set about making the best one that we could. We hope that you like it.

You can watch Musa's incredible video here.

Kobe shown homophobic language not fine.

Sports stars are often held up as paragons, as inspirations to us all.

Young people copy their actions, those in adulthood rue missed opportunities oft wondering why they are not in the similar position.

All in all this makes it worrying why Kobe Bryant, one of the most recognisable sports stars in North America, if not the world, was seen apparently uttering the word "faggot" to a referee.

Such an example could very quickly be seen as being acceptable by tens of thousands of people.

English football fan's minds will immediately think of the incident involving Wayne Rooney where he uttered a number of expletives into a TV camera after scoring a goal. The result - a two game suspension.

In the Bryant case the NBA acted swiftly and fined him $100,000. For that they must be praised.

The head of NBA David Stern made the sport's position very clear in a statement.

He said: "Kobe Bryant's comment during last night's game was offensive and inexcusable. While I'm fully aware that basketball is an emotional game, such a distasteful term should never be tolerated.

"Accordingly, I have fined Kobe $100,000. Kobe and everyone associated with the NBA know that insensitive or derogatory comments are not acceptable and have no place in our game or society."

Bryant himself said: "My actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game, period.

"The words expressed do not reflect my feelings towards the gay and lesbian communities and were not meant to offend anyone."

These words and apology do not excuse Bryant from what was a clearly offensive comment, not just to the referee but to gay people across the globe.

The fine is welcomed but it needs to be put in perspective.

Bryant earns more than $30 million. A fine of $100,000 is hardly going to hurt him personally.

But what it will do is grab the headlines and make kids and adults know that such language is not acceptable, never has been and never will be.

From recent memory there have been no notable examples of football authorities taking similar stances.

Whether it is through lack of evidence - as such language does get uttered on the pitch and in the terraces - reluctance, or inability to track down the offenders, who knows.

Whatever the reason we hope the FA, Uefa and Fifa sit up and take note of the NBA's admirable lead.

Anton Hysen: an inspiration

The fourth tier of Swedish football does not normally get a whole load of international press coverage.

But that was before Anton Hysen, a midfielder for Utsiktens BK, decided to publicly declare his sexuality.

Hysén, the son of former Liverpool and Swedish international Glenn Hysén, recently came out as Sweden's first openly gay male footballer.

He is only the second high-level footballer to come out in the world, ever, after the Justin Campaign's figurehead Justin Fashanu.

But reading this article from the Guardian newspaper highlights that even with strong family support and being away from the intense media pressure of the top tier of football there are still many questions unanswered.

How will it affect his football? Will opposition taunts ever die down? What impact will it have on his personal life?

Reading the comments in the piece it is clear Anton is a very strong-willed individual who is simply living his own life.

He says: "There's nothing to be a role model for – you're gay, it's not a big thing. People tell me I'm a celebrity now, and I shouldn't be. But as long as it helps [others by speaking openly], I'll do everything I can. If there's anyone afraid of coming out they should give me a call."

The support he has received has also been fantastic, which can only be encouraging for LGBT fans and players across the world.

He says: "Everyone has been very positive. I was on the train last weekend and this girl said: 'You've made the world a better place, thank you for being there for everyone,' and I haven't done anything.

"But when you think about it, I kinda have. Obviously I haven't been playing in the top league but I'm still going for it, and I'm still the only active player who has come out, so of course it's huge.

"If you're a real man in the Premier League you'd say, 'If you've got a problem, call me.' There has to be some way – whoever plays in the Premier League should try to support them."

A TV programme in the UK featuring Anton alongside Rugby star Gareth Thomas and England cricketer Steven Davies planned for the coming weeks will also further bring the subject to the country's attention.

The Justin Campaign has already publicly supported Anton.

Whether his actions will lead to a UK professional player coming out in the next few months or even years it not important. Such a decision is ultimately down to the individual.

But the key thing is that clubs and authorities see it as an issue and have a support network in place to ensure that anyone who wants to can do so with as much backing as Anton has received.

His lead has already shown that homosexuality in football is less of an unspeakable "taboo" but uncharted territory that authorities, players and fans should not be afraid.

Football clubs are workplaces too

The Justin Campaign inbox is full of emails from LGBT and equality campaigners from across the world.

This week we caught sight of this report and survey from Northern Ireland.

The report by the Rainbow Project claims that one in four gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people hide their sexuality while at work in the private sector.

The figure itself is shocking for part of the UK which, as a whole, appears to have really taken steps towards a more equal society in recent decades.

It also highlights the large steps we still need to take before people can feel proud and free to be themselves.

This is clearly apparent in the comments from Matthew McDermott, equality officer at the Rainbow Project and the report's author, who said: "This should enable government and employers to consider the measures they think appropriate to improve working life for all LGBT people."

The Justin Campaign welcomes the report and these comments.

But we also must make it clear that this covers not just offices, factories, shops and public buildings where the majority of the population head to earn their keep.

It also covers all professional and semi-pro football clubs too, both on and off the pitch.

We hope clubs across the country sit up and take note of what is a significant piece of research and ask "what can we do" for its employees.

Education workshops and picking up on negative language are just some of the simple steps that would very quickly improve things for LGBT people.

Creating an accepting culture behind the scenes is as integral as having a visible presence on the pitch in the ultimate aim of ridding homophobia from the beautiful game.

The Justin Campaign Nottingham Tournament Is Approaching!

The Justin Campaign, in partnership with the University of Nottingham LGBTQ staff network, is delighted to announce details of a fantastic summer football tournament to be held at the University of Nottingham Sports Centre on July 2^nd.

The day will consist of both a male tournament and a female tournament (no mixed teams) and teams need to be submitted by June 1^st (including payment of £4 per player).

There will also be a stalls fair, and spaces are now available for this too!

So for both team and stall submissions, please contact us at nottingham.events@thejustincampaign.com

Ahead of this fantastic day, Notts County football club have issued the following statement:

As a club, we recognise and appreciate that homophobia, like all forms of discrimination, have no place in football and work hard to combat them. We therefore fully support the work of everyone associated with the Justin Campaign and give our full backing to events such as this. May the best team win!

The Justin Campaign can't wait to see you all there!

The Justin Campaign Signs Up Aslie Pitter MBE

The Justin Campaign is delighted to announce that Aslie Pitter MBE is to become the organisation’s new patron.

Aslie, who is gay football club Stonewall FC’s longest serving player, received his MBE, awarded for his work in tackling homophobia, at the end of last year.

On joining forces with The Justin Campaign, Aslie (pictured in red with Justin Campaign founding director Jason Hall) said:

“I’m delighted to join with The Justin Campaign. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. The campaign is very important as we need to highlight the fact that, in sport as in life in general, people need to be able to be themselves.

Justin Fashanu had no support when he came out but hopefully now,

through organisations like the Justin Campaign, there is support waiting for players who do want to come out.”

Aslie’s new role with the campaign comes just after the hugely successful FA-backed Football v Homophobia initiative in February, which saw events taking place all over the world to celebrate the fight against homophobia in the game.

The Justin Campaign is honoured to welcome Aslie on board and is excited about this high-profile new-signing!

For more information please contact Alan Duffy at alan@thejustincampaign.com or on 07814347566

www.thejustincampaign.com

www.footballvhomophobia.com

German Football Boss Promises Support For Gay Players

Yet another positive piece of news has appeared, this time in the German media and regarding DFB President Theo Zwanziger.

In an article in the German press, Zwanziger has pledged his support for gay players in Germany who want to come out.

We at The Justin Campaign would like to applaud Mr Zwanziger for his comments. For the game to become more welcoming to members of the LGBT community both on and off the pitch, the footballing authorities need to be far more visible in their support for anti-homophobia initiatives and the inclusion of gay people in football, something which Mr Zwanziger has himself done perfectly.

Here is the link to the German article http://www.11freunde.de/newsticker/137165

And here is a translation, which, while not perfect, will give you the gist of what Zwanziger is saying.

German Football President Zwanziger Promises To Support Gay Players Who Come Out.

DFB president Theo Zwanziger has pledged his personal support and the assistance of the Association to any gay Bundesliga players who decide to come out. "I’d find it brave and welcome, if a football player came out. He would have the support of both the DFB and myself ", Zwanziger said before the Congress of the European Football Union (UEFA) in Paris.

On Sunday, a German TV show “Murder In The First Division” from ARD has the issue of homosexuality in the Bundesliga as its theme and Zwanziger was please to see the issue being covered in the media.

“"I welcome it, " he explained. "It is important that TV shows, with their audience of millions, show taboo topics from all areas of society because keeping taboos such as sexual orientation or depression amongst others hidden, is contrary to the ideas of freedom and human dignity."

In relation to whether players should come out, Zwanziger also said: “Whether someone wants to make his sexual orientation public, they have to decide that for themselves”.

If you'd like to hear our views on this or any other issue, then please contact Communications Director Alan Duffy on 07814347566 or at alan@thejustincampaign.com.