No to Homophobia campaign supported by Australian Football League

by Craig Takeuchi on August 28th, 2012 at 4:48 PM

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Last week, I blogged about how Australian rugby player David Pocock took an unrelenting anti-homophobia stance on a debate about same-sex marriage on Australian talk show Q and A. He had mentioned how homophobia needed to be addressed in Australian sports.

Well, it looks like that's now under way.

The No to Homophobia campaign, funded by the Victorian Department of Health, was launched in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria today.

The year-long ad campaign, the first of its kind to be broadcast on Australian national TV, has the support or endorsement of numerous organizations, including the Human Rights Law Centre, the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, and the Australian Football League.

The launch of the campaign happens to come mere weeks after Stephen Milne, a member of the St Kilda's Australian football team, was fined AUS$3,000 for calling Collingwood Magpies' Harry O'Brien a "fucking homo".

The ad encourages citizens to speak up and report any discrimination they witness against queer people, including trans, bisexual, and homosexual individuals.

In North America, the You Can Play ad campaign is addressing homophobia in sports by encouraging a more inclusive social environment.

You can follow Craig Takeuchi on Twitter at twitter.com/cinecraig. You can also follow the Georgia Straight's LGBT coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/StraightLGBT.