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Why this detail on the football registration form for Andrew Bogut’s six-year-old son that left him furious: ‘Come on!’
- The former NBA star was scathing in his criticism of Football Australia
- Bogut described a controversial gay pride mural in Sydney as “outrageous”
- Football Australia is committed to making football as inclusive as possible
Former Australian NBA star Andrew Bogut criticized Football Australia for having “underrepresented identity” among the gender options on its website.
Bogut explained on Twitter that he was trying to sign up his six-year-old son to play soccer and shared an image of the options available to select gender.
‘Male’, ‘female’, ‘non-binary/gender fluid’, and ‘underrepresented gender identity’ were included in the dropdown menu.
‘Signing our 6 YEARS!, Again, 6 YEARS! for soccer. Let’s go @FootballAus’, the 2015 NBA champion tweeted.
Earlier this week, Bogut vehemently criticized a controversial gay pride mural in Sydney, sparking outrage and demands that the “creepy and sexualized” image be removed from children’s view.
Former NBA star Andrew Bogut criticized Football Australia for having “underrepresented identity” among the gender options on its website.
The option appeared in a dropdown menu that appeared when Bogut tried to sign up his six-year-old son to play soccer.
Located next to the Wynard Street station, the mural depicted an overweight, hairy man wearing a teddy bear head and bondage gear while lying in a dilapidated saloon draped in a gay pride flag.
“I saw it, I commented on it, I’m not a fan,” Bogut told Sky News presenter Paul Murray.
“Obviously, the teddy bear may be an LGBT argument, but you know kids identify with things like that and are drawn to teddy bears and rainbow flags and all that.
‘Seeing that was, in my opinion, despicable […] It is scandalous.
In 2020, Football Australia was one of 13 National Sports Organizations to commit to developing gender and trans diversity inclusion frameworks for their sport.
Football Australia CEO James Johnson said at the time that the organization was committed to establishing and implementing policies to ensure trans and gender diverse people feel welcome and included at all levels of football.
“In the XI Principles for the Future of Australian Rules, we recognize the need to introduce measures to promote inclusion and make football accessible to all,” he said.
“We look forward to working with Pride in Sport to formalize frameworks and guidelines that promote the inclusion of trans and gender diverse people within our game, whether at the grassroots or professional level, in administrative roles or in any other capacity.
‘Football is the global game and our mission is to make football inclusive for all.’
The Socceroos were the first team to publicly address the fact that homosexuality is still criminalized in Qatar, as they raise concerns about LGBT laws in the country ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
Socceroos star Jackson Irvine has regularly worn a pride flag-themed captain’s armband while playing for his club St Pauli in the German second division.
“As players, we fully support the rights of LGBTI+ people, but in Qatar people are not free to love the person they choose,” the 16 players who support the initiative said in the video, posted on Socceroos social media via the end of October.
A statement from Football Australia also reaffirmed its desire for gay rights to improve not only while the world is watching during the World Cup, but also after the tournament.
“As the most multicultural, diverse and inclusive sport in our country, we believe that everyone should be able to feel safe and be authentic,” the FA statement read.
“While we acknowledge the highest levels of assurances given by Qatar’s HH Amir and the FIFA President that LGBTI+ fans will be safely welcomed in Qatar, we hope this openness can continue beyond the tournament.”