Justin Fashanu Celebration Day

[Northants Pie]

As the sexuality of footballers is again in the press and the apparant surveys etc of those narrow minded few who say they won't go to games if their team had an openly gay player.

I thought why don't we as supporters of Notts County and therefore Justin Fashanu put a far more positive and progressive stance and celebrate hand in hand his time with us and his sexuality?

If this only made one supporter / player / member of society feel welcome and accepted then i'm sure we would all feel better in the knowledge that they feel this at a forward thinking and progressive club like ours can and should be.

[Chris]

I read something Joe wrote about a BBC poll involving gay footballers, if 80% of fans can accept it - why don't clubs?

I wished more would be brave like Justin and come forward, as with anything you can only gain change this way. However, its notable why some might not with how the media treat people and of course some (a very minor percentage I am sure) would react.

[lukencfc]

My first post on the site Hope I don't ramble too much (heh...cue..I probably will!).

Interesting post. Thanks for starting it.

I'm pleased as a fan that our club has been more inclusive than most..I think we're one of a dozen or so clubs throughout the country with official club-endorsed LGBT fan groups. This in itself is a massive step forwards - and some anecdotal evidence around the country suggests that these groups have had some positive impact. Visibility alone can be a start. Now I know some people will still be of the view "Why create LGBT fan groups? Why are people allowing themselves to be ghettoised" etc. I think the answer to this is purely safety in numbers. Many LGBT people still feel unsafe or unable to be themselves. I'm not so sure that these groups are completely perfect. I don't know how they are funded (if at all) and I'd imagine lots of volunteers are involved. So I think one step forward in the future might be to have at least some larger community outreach presence within clubs that can provide office space and support in terms of promotion etc. You raised the point about gay supporters feeling more encouraged and accepted - I think the club's backing of a LGBT group is a good start because it shows a willingness by the club to be diverse and to try and tackle this issue. What any fans group itself needs to do is to be warm and welcoming at first contact. I'd imagine many people will have that first contact via social media - twitter etc. So I think any group trying to attract a wide membership needs to look at following people back, talking and engaging with people, explaining what they are are about and what they do, cater to fans who aren't local. This to me is where it has the potential to fall down a little and risk becoming very much like a tiny clique.

The wider point you raise via the 8% and the survey. It's interesting isn't it? I mean, I don't know how truly accurate those figures are - "casual" homophobia in itself is still depressingly common (and my own view is that I'm not too sure the lads-bible "it's only banter" crowd have been the greatest thing to happen to happen!)..I do tend to agree with Chris Sutton -  for a change -  when he said that we need to go after this 8%, and drive them away for a change (instead of allowing them to dictate football). I'm not sure Greg Clarke is the right man to be FA Chairman. Some of his views seem so outdated now and his general tone has been defeatist and negative.

Anyway, sorry if I have waffled

 

[DangerousSausage]

Welcome to the community @lukencfc! There's nowt wrong with the odd ramble, especially when it's an interesting one!

I think a lot more should be done to make football appealing to gay fans. If folk see football grounds as places where they are more likely to encounter homophobia they will be less likely to come, and that's a shame for everyone. I think there's growing awareness that homophobia is not OK, whether on the terraces or in society, and there's more awareness. But we still have a way to go.

I like the sound of a Justin Fashanu Celebration Day, but we'd have to be careful not to reduce him to his sexuality.

[Northants Pie]

5 minutes ago, DangerousSausage said:

Welcome to the community @lukencfc! There's nowt wrong with the odd ramble, especially when it's an interesting one!

I think a lot more should be done to make football appealing to gay fans. If folk see football grounds as places where they are more likely to encounter homophobia they will be less likely to come, and that's a shame for everyone. I think there's growing awareness that homophobia is not OK, whether on the terraces or in society, and there's more awareness. But we still have a way to go.

I like the sound of a Justin Fashanu Celebration Day, but we'd have to be careful not to reduce him to his sexuality.

The celebration, if done properly would show that we as fans appreciated the footballer first and foremost, it would be a little hard to not to reduce it in a small part to his sexuality as he was brave enough to be open about his sexuality and this is the way forward to show that anyone who is anyone (peados apart, sorry..) are accepted for who they are not what they are nor what sexuality they are, unfortunately much like the horrid issue of racial abuse we need to highlight it first then society in this country generaly starts to change towards the better.

In doing so hopefully more people that are lgbt will feel comfortable about attending Notts games as they realise that we as fans will accept them for paying their money to watch the game not who or what they are.

[Piethagoram]

In the book, One flew over the magpies nest...Jack Dunnett mentions to Jimmy, after signing Justin, that we should sign his brother John too. Jimmy replied "He will never make a footballer". Not one of Jimmy's better decisions (signing Rob Green was his worst). Perhaps had Jimmy signed John, Justin may still be alive today....

[Northants Pie]

2 hours ago, lukencfc said:

My first post on the site Hope I don't ramble too much (heh...cue..I probably will!).

Interesting post. Thanks for starting it.

I'm pleased as a fan that our club has been more inclusive than most..I think we're one of a dozen or so clubs throughout the country with official club-endorsed LGBT fan groups. This in itself is a massive step forwards - and some anecdotal evidence around the country suggests that these groups have had some positive impact. Visibility alone can be a start. Now I know some people will still be of the view "Why create LGBT fan groups? Why are people allowing themselves to be ghettoised" etc. I think the answer to this is purely safety in numbers. Many LGBT people still feel unsafe or unable to be themselves. I'm not so sure that these groups are completely perfect. I don't know how they are funded (if at all) and I'd imagine lots of volunteers are involved. So I think one step forward in the future might be to have at least some larger community outreach presence within clubs that can provide office space and support in terms of promotion etc. You raised the point about gay supporters feeling more encouraged and accepted - I think the club's backing of a LGBT group is a good start because it shows a willingness by the club to be diverse and to try and tackle this issue. What any fans group itself needs to do is to be warm and welcoming at first contact. I'd imagine many people will have that first contact via social media - twitter etc. So I think any group trying to attract a wide membership needs to look at following people back, talking and engaging with people, explaining what they are are about and what they do, cater to fans who aren't local. This to me is where it has the potential to fall down a little and risk becoming very much like a tiny clique.

The wider point you raise via the 8% and the survey. It's interesting isn't it? I mean, I don't know how truly accurate those figures are - "casual" homophobia in itself is still depressingly common (and my own view is that I'm not too sure the lads-bible "it's only banter" crowd have been the greatest thing to happen to happen!)..I do tend to agree with Chris Sutton -  for a change -  when he said that we need to go after this 8%, and drive them away for a change (instead of allowing them to dictate football). I'm not sure Greg Clarke is the right man to be FA Chairman. Some of his views seem so outdated now and his general tone has been defeatist and negative.

Anyway, sorry if I have waffled

 

Good first post and welcome to PoN.

The FA are the route of most of the problems within our game unfortunately.

I feel that rather than a group supported by the club ( which is brilliant ) every fan should welcome anyone who wants to pay their money and watch the game, i talk to anyone who wants to talk ( i promise im not lonely.. ha ha) and if the issue of sexuality comes up then so be it but the inclusiveness of the club as a whole is what we need to strive for