Sat be 'gay in' ahead of AFL's gural Pri Game

Contents:

• SAM GILBERT, ST KILDA PLAYERS MARCH FOR GAY PRI AHEAD OF FIRST EVER GAY PRI GAME AGAST SYDNEY
• SAT BE 'GAY IN' AHEAD OF AFL'S GURAL PRI GAME
• ST KILDA AND SYDNEY TO PLAY AFL'S FIRST GAY PRI GAME
• ST KILDA LOBBY AFL FOR GAY PRI GAME
• GAY MOSW MOSW CY GUI
• THE BEST ST KILDA GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS ST KILDA
• GAY MOLDOVA
• MOSW COURT UPHOLDS 100-YEAR BAN ON GAY PRI EVENTS
• ‘I N UNRSTAND’: GAY PLAYERS THE AFL ‘CHOOSG NOT TO BE FIRST’ OUT PUBLICLY SAYS GILL MCLACHLAN
• TOM ELLT SLAMS THE AFL FOR HOSTG A 'GAY PRI MATCH' BETWEEN SYDNEY SWANS AND ST KILDA
• THE BEST ST KILDA GAY CLUBS & BARSSEE ALL THGS TO DOGAY CLUBS & BARS ST KILDA

SAM GILBERT, ST KILDA PLAYERS MARCH FOR GAY PRI AHEAD OF FIRST EVER GAY PRI GAME AGAST SYDNEY

Followed tegori will be add to My KILDA chief executive Matt Fnis nces the AFL’s first openly gay player will need to whstand unique prsur and Fnis says the Sats are termed to smooth the path to creased diversy football wh their world-first Gay Pri game Round and St Kilda fenr Sam Gilbert were among a legatn of Sats that marched unr the club’s lours at Sunday’s Gay Pri march Fzroy St, St Kilda and Sydney will play that Round 21 game as part of the Sats’ progrsive outlook on social issu and promotg said on Sunday was not the club’s tentn to drag a player out to the open.

Instead, he wants to broadst the msage that anyone is wele at St Kilda what would need to change for a gay footballer to e out, he nced was a “difficult issue”. “The sad realy is for so many gay people they haven’t felt fortable at the football.

”Gilbert has several gay iends and was particularly stck by the story of suburban footballer Jason Ball, who ially hid his sexualy om his teammat.

SAT BE 'GAY IN' AHEAD OF AFL'S GURAL PRI GAME

SAM GILBERT, gay in.

It might not be a scriptor the St Kilda fenr ever expected, but, acrdg to Jason Ball (Atralian Football's first openly gay male player), the scriptn is que, a 28-year-old centre half-back for Victorian untry club Yarra Glen, explaed how highly Gilbert is thought of by the lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, tersex and qutng (LGBTIQ) muny.

"He's bee a gay in a way, " Ball said of the veteran Sats fenr.

ST KILDA AND SYDNEY TO PLAY AFL'S FIRST GAY PRI GAME

"It sent a msage to other people the sportg world that sayg no to homophobia don't make you ls of a man. "I me to unrstand a lot of the homophobic language and behavur wasn't g om a place of hatred towards me or gay people, but rather jt ignorance and not knowg the impact on me, " Ball said.

"Once I was out, that homophobic language fad.

ST KILDA LOBBY AFL FOR GAY PRI GAME

"(They weren't) necsarily directed at me, but every time I would hear those words, felt like a remr if they found out I was gay, I wouldn't be accepted. "Ball was 12 when he realised he was gay. "Acrdg to the study Out On The Fields, which documented the experienc of gay, lbian and bisexual people team sports, 87 per cent of young gay Atralians felt pelled to hi their sexualy some hid his sexualy om his football club for many years, but he had ma a promise to himself he would not lie about if ever knew tryg to fabrite tal about experienc wh women would get him ught was openly gay while studyg at Melbourne Universy, so when an old school iend me to the football club, Ball's sexualy soon beme an open secret, although he remaed unaware others night after trag, while talkg to a teammate, the nversatn shifted and Ball was asked about his personal life.

He was able to proudly intify as a gay cisn to e out publicly was supported by Yarra Glen, which ntu to back Ball his 's experienc have shown him people are pable of change. "Gilbert believ the AFL is ready for s first openly gay player, but only when a person feels fortable enough to go down that path. The Sats will dite their Round 21 clash agast the Sydney Swans to the LGBTQI muny, and hope to e the game as a platform to foster and velop improved pathways for LGBTQI people to both participate , and work the sport, wh a view to eraditg homophobic behavur pletely om the game.

GAY MOSW MOSW CY GUI

Homophobic language was routely ed on the field and left me sred to be myself. The statistics behd the game are particularly damng: 87% of young gay Atralians who play sport feel forced to hi their sexualy, eher pletely or partially. 80% of all participants, and 82% of LGBTQI participants have wnsed homophobia on the field durg sportg ntts, and a further 78% of all participants believe that an openly LGBTQI person would not feel safe as a spectator at a sportg event.

THE BEST ST KILDA GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS ST KILDA

Pictured are St Kilda footballer Sam Gilbert, CEO Matt Fnis and ach Alan Pat SlaChief executive Matt Fnis said the match was spired by untry footballer Jason Ball, who was the first gay player at any level of the game to e out, and the Pri Cup he and his Yarra Glen teammat have held for the past two the gam, 50 metre l were pated rabow lours and players and ach were ted on the impact of homophobia and how they uld make clubs more clive for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and tersex (LGBTI) supporters, players and officials. "St Kilda were heavily volved Yarra Glen's Pri Cup, sendg a senr staff member to all planng meetgs, while Fnis spoke at a pre-match lunch hosted by the AFL, Sats players led a half-time Akick clic, and ach Alan Richardson addrsed a trag ssn for lol ach on the effects of homophobia.

GAY MOLDOVA

"Jason Ball wh the Pri Dean ArcuriFnis said the tails of the match had not yet been falised but he planned to officially lnch the Pri game durg Melbourne's Midsumma Ftival January, which celebrat the LGBTI visn is for broadster Channel 7 to air pre-game and half-time tnal vios, wh people who have been affected by homophobia sport sharg their match will also aim to raise money for chari who support same-sex attracted and genr diverse young people.

Victoria's first Genr and Sexualy Commissner Rowena Allen will chair an advisory mtee for the Ball, who is now a Greens ndidate the feral seat of Higgs, said the match would be an credibly powerful next step the ph to make sport more clive, and the fight agast homophobia. 38amSt Kilda will ask the AFL for a landmark gay pri game s 2016 fixture submissn as part of a wir ph to stamp out homophobia and foster an Atralian-first, the Sats will requt a primetime night match to celebrate diversy and offer gay fans and players a powerful gture of Kilda fenr Sam Gilbert, CEO Matt Fnis and ach Alan Pat SlaThe submissn will be ma this month as part of St Kilda's home and away fixture requt and has the backg of the Victorian ernment's new Genr and Sexualy Allen last week met wh St Kilda chief executive Matt Fnis and will chair an advisory mtee to get the rabow match off the ground.

MOSW COURT UPHOLDS 100-YEAR BAN ON GAY PRI EVENTS

Illtratn: Matt GoldgThe proposal clus pre-game and half-time packag for televisn dienc on the impact of homophobia sport, wh money raised gog to chari supportg genr diverse and same-sex attracted said the event uld be "life-savg" for young lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and tersex (LGBTI) Atralians, who suffer disproportnately high rat of suici due to discrimatn and told Fairfax Media they are discsn wh two clubs – one Victorian and one terstate – who are keen to pete the game, and he is optimistic the AFL will support the event as an annual fixture.

Many of our supporters by virtue of their sexualy will face tim their liv where they feel margalised and a footy club should be a place that e them om that and a place they n feel a sense of pri and acceptance, " he the AFL muny has been rocked by the Adam Goos racism ntroversy, the Sats' remarkable behd-the-scen journey as a champn of gay rights, offers a blueprt for the posive role football n play leadg social said his spiratn for the fixture was the Pri Cup, a untry football game spearhead by Yarra Glen's Jason Ball - the first openly gay player at any level of the game – which teams wore rabow jumpers, and 50-metre l were pated rabow Kilda were heavily volved the May event, sendg a senr staff member to all planng meetgs, while Fnis spoke at a pre-match lunch hosted by the AFL, Sats players led a half-time Akick clic, and ach Alan Richardson addrsed a trag ssn for lol ach on the impact of homophobia. "When Jason spoke about his dark thoughts about 'this world's not for me' ma me thk, gee whiz, if we happen to have a gay footballer our footy club I want to make sure that that person feels credibly fortable, " Richardson said the cisn for a gay player to e out would "absolutely be a personal one" but his duty of re as a ach was to ensure the environment was safe.

"A recent global study of homophobia sport found 87 per cent of gay Atralian athlet feel forced to hi their sexualy om teammat while 75 per cent do not feel safe watchg om the stands. AFL was ranked among the least welg ' passn for cln was igned Febary 2013 when he was head of the AFL Players Associatn and marched wh Ball Victoria's annual Pri March St Kilda, alongsi Carlton's Brock McLean and Richmond's Dan Jackson – the first AFL players to Ball wh the Pri Dean ArcuriIt highlighted for him the role football uld play promotg equaly and led to the AFLPA nng a social media mpaign for Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia volvg players om all takg over at St Kilda April last year, Fnis has sought to brg wholale cultural change to a club that had a tattered reputatn after a seri of sex said the ph for LGBTI cln was part of the "egalarian spir" the club was tryg to reigne through s "How I Want to Be" motto, which foced on belongg and his tenure, the Sats beme the first club to march team lours Pri March this year and are the first AFL club to officially endorse Atralian Marriage Equaly's ph for same-sex marriage.

‘I N UNRSTAND’: GAY PLAYERS THE AFL ‘CHOOSG NOT TO BE FIRST’ OUT PUBLICLY SAYS GILL MCLACHLAN

They also field an AFL 9s team at Midsumma – Melbourne's annual gay and lbian the mov have been wily weled by the St Kilda fahful, the club has also received a handful of letters om fans threateng to ncel their memberships, argug football is no place for Fnis matas they have a social rponsibily to be clive to the muny they serve and this is not a polil fenr Sam Gilbert said the entire playg group backed the e and he was exced about the prospect of pullg on a rabow jumper for a Pri year, at an Atralian Marriage Equaly fundraiser, Gilbert spoke publicly for the first time of his battl wh severe dyslexia and how feelg different and exclud had given him a sense of empathy for the stggle many LGBTI Atralians face. Gay or straight, everyone serv to be treated equally. Homosexualy is legal, although a vaguely-word 2013 law prohibs the promotn of ‘non-tradnal’ relatnships.

TOM ELLT SLAMS THE AFL FOR HOSTG A 'GAY PRI MATCH' BETWEEN SYDNEY SWANS AND ST KILDA

As such, gay travellers are advised agast overt displays of their sexualy. That said, the vast majory of viss rema trouble-ee, even for visors who equent the cy’s ls-than-secret gay bar and club bt hotels MoswThe historic exterr of the Hotel Metropol, facg the ternatnally-celebrated Bolshoi Theatre and close to many of the other ma thgs to do Mosw, is nothg pared to s sumptuo terrs.

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The rpeted terrs give this stay a homely ambience, which marri well wh breakfast – which is served your CrewiRemend hotels Gay Mosw - Mosw. Durg the last ten years GenrDoc-M has registered 15 s of gay murr bee of homophobia and numero s of vlence, discrimatn and tolerant attu to LGBT muny. Official partner of the project is the Swedish Gay and Lbian Feratn – RFSL.

General sponsor is Stockholm Gay and Lbian Pri.