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UN / SPORT HOMOPHOBIA
STORY: UN / SPORT HOMOPHOBIA WRAP
TRT: 3.21
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ NATS
DATELINE: 10 DECEMBER 2013, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Tilt up, exterior United Nations headquarters
10 DECEMBER 2013, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Martina Navatrilova an Jason Collins enter press briefing room
3. Zoom in, dais
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Martina Navatrilova, Tennis Player:
“Nelson Mandela said sport has the power to change the world.”
5. Wide shot, press
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Martina Navatrilova, Tennis Player:
“Gays and lesbians seem to be the last group of people that is still OK to pick on. For whatever reason, in whatever way, whether it’s bullying in schools, whether it’s calling names, denying basic rights, to actual incarceration in many countries around the world, to actually six countries around the world being gay is punishable by death. So, we’ve come a long way in gay rights, particularly in the last ten years, the ball has really move forward quite a bit, but we still have a long way to go. ”
7. Med shot, press
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Martina Navatrilova, Tennis Player:
“I think we can say sand politics are inextricably combined. They go hand-in-hand, and that’s where my disappointment was with the IOC, where they in fact said sports and politics don’t mix, which is completely contrary to what’s been happening. So that’s where my disappointment is, more than with anybody and anyone else, is the IOC for really putting their head in the sand and not wanting to make any waves."
9. Med shot, Navatrilova walking down hallway
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Martina Navatrilova, Tennis Player:
“The more you try to oppress someone, the more they are going to say, hey, I am here, and that is exactly what’s going on right now with the Olympics, that’s what may happen in Qatar as well, or wherever. The more you try to suppress a group of people, and it is unfair of course, the more attention you will call to it and eventually you will lose, because you are in the wrong side of history.”
11. Med shot, Navatrilova and Collins walking
12. Med shot, Navatrilova walking down hallway
“One day it won’t be making headlines or make a difference at all if a person comes out, whether it be an athlete, or a movie star, or a politician, it won’t make any difference one way or the other. It’s still making headlines, but the headlines are getting smaller and that’s the whole point. As more people come out people realize, you know what, gays and lesbians are everywhere, and they are OK, and it really doesn’t matter. And that’s the direction that we are heading, and it’s great to see that it is finally happening.”
13. Various shots, Collins posing for pictures in front of Security Council
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Jason Collins, Basketball Player:
“Each person who comes forward, be it female or male, makes it easier for the next person, and hopefully what I’ve done, what Martina Navatrilova has done for me, and there are so many other athletes who each time someone comes forward will make it easier for the next person to come forward and, you know, live their lives.”
15. Wide shot, dais
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Jason Collins, Basketball Player:
“As far as the head of the organization, NBA, they are doing a great job as far as making sure that people are comfortable to be who they are and knowing that if someone has a problem with that, they better not put that out in public because they will get fined.”
17. Wide shot, end of presser
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova and National Basketball Association (NBA) player Jason Collins today (10 December) pushed the ball forward on equal rights by adding their voices to the United Nations campaign to counter homophobic violence and discrimination.
Navatrilova quoted Nelson Mandela, saying that “sport has the power to change the world” and pointed out that “gays and lesbians seem to be the last group of people that is still OK to pick on.”
She said that the abuse ranges from being bullied in school to being denied basic rights, incarcerated or sentenced for acts punishable by death in certain countries.
Navatrilova said “we’ve come a long way in gay rights, particularly in the last ten years, the ball has really move forward quite a bit, but we still have a long way to go.”
She urged athletes who are also members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community to be more visible and said “sport and politics are inextricably combined. They go hand in hand.”
Responding to media questions about the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia, where some have criticized authorities for an aggressive stance towards sexual minorities, the winner of 18 grand slams expressed disappointment with the International Olympic Committee, (IOC) for “putting their head in the sand and not wanting to make any waves."
Speaking to UNifeed, she said “the more you try to oppress someone, the more they are going to say, hey, I am here, and that is exactly what’s going on right now with the Olympics, that’s what may happen in Qatar as well, or wherever,” referring also to the 2024 football World Cup, which will take place in that country.
She said “the more you try to suppress a group of people, and it is unfair of course, the more attention you will call to it and eventually you will lose, because you are in the wrong side of history.”
The dominant tennis player of her time, and out since 1981, said “one day it won't be making headlines or make a difference at all if a person comes out, whether it be an athlete, or a movie star, or a politician, it won't make any difference one way or the other.”
She added that “it’s still making headlines, but the headlines are getting smaller and that’s the whole point. As more people come out people realize, you know what, gays and lesbians are everywhere, and they are OK, and it really doesn’t matter. And that’s the direction that we are heading, and it’s great to see that it is finally happening.”
Collins, who played in several NBA teams and became the first active male professional athlete in a major North American team sport to come out publicly as gay when he made his announcement in May of this year, said “each person who comes forward, be it female or male, makes it easier for the next person.”
He commended the role being played by the NBA “as far as making sure that people are comfortable to be who they are and knowing that if someone has a problem with that, they better not put that out in public because they will get fined.”
NBA players who make homophobic remarks are exposed to 50,000 dollar fines.
Both athletes took part in a special event for Human Rights Day, “Sport comes out against homophobia.” The event, organized by the UN human rights office (OHCHR) and other members of the LGBT Core Group at the UN, is supported by UN Women and the non-governmental organizations United for Equality in Sport and Entertainment and Global Action Initiatives.
The event also included a video message from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who today is in Johannesburg, South Africa, for an official memorial service for Nelson Mandela.
More than 76 countries still criminalize consensual adult same-sex relationships, while in many more countries discrimination against LGBT people is widespread – including in the workplace and in the education and health sectors, according to UN figures.
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