VOR DEBATE - Homosexuality in sport: tackling the taboo

In recent years, basketball, rugby and cricket have all seen high-profile stars come out as homosexuals. But the world’s most popular sport, football, currently does not have a single top flight professional who is openly gay. Anton Hysen, who plays in the Swedish 3rd Division comes closest. In Britain, the former Norwich City and Nottingham Forest footballer - Justin Fashanu – revealed that he was gay in 1990. But Fashanu suffered years of discrimination and ended up committing suicide in 1998, after a 17 year-old American boy alleged that the football star had sexually assaulted him.

Meanwhile, a recent National Union of Students survey has revealed that less than 40% of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students who play organised sport at university are open about their sexuality with their teammates.

So is progress being made in combating homophobia in sport, or is an issue that is simply not being addressed?

The Voice of Russia’s Tim Walklate discusses this with Andrew Warshaw, Chief Football Reporter for Inside World Football; Chris Basiurski, Chair of the Gay Football Supporters’ Network and Tony Fenwick, Co-Chair of Schools Out and LGBT History Month.

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