In a world that may be close to nuclear war, GFC Mark2, and a global climate catastrophe, I'm not sure that whether a gay or lesbian sports person should 'come out' or not is hardly of great importance.

Why can't gay and lesbian people keep what they do in private, private? Why do feel the need to flaunt it in public, to get right in the faces of a world that is predominately heterosexual?

If I had a sexual fetish for shoes or being whipped or bestiality or sodomy, I wouldn't want to expose it for all to see and neither would most people.

Sometimes, being discrete has its advantages!

http://www.dangerouscreation.com

I wonder if one of the spin-offs from the controversy that has been beaten up in the media will be that insurers will increase premiums and force a tightening of the blood rule which was instituted because of the risk of transmission of various diseases.

The blood rule had been abused by some teams to force opponents off the field as occurred in the scandalous act by Collingwood captain Nathan Buckley smearing blood onto Cameron Ling's guernsey to have Ling sent from the field under the rule. That is why the rule was relaxed in 2002.

Off the field, the act of deliberately contaminating another person with blood is a serious assault, particularly against police officers. In rescue, medical and other occupations where body fluids could be encountered, insurers, unions and staff demand firm safety rules and personal protection.

Insurance premiums are already crippling for juniors clubs and smaller seniors clubs, which do not have the support of pokies revenue.

Casting about for a way of putting some brake on insurance premiums, perhaps regular blood and urine screening tests should be instituted for all players. The blood rule will need to be tightened considerably. Also, any act of deliberately contaminating another player with blood should result in long term suspension.

Dear Cornflower,

What about what footballers do during "scrums"
to each other - especially - as a means of provocation?
The grobing, the insults, the heads up bums,
and so on...
Perhaps the game needs to be looked at in general?

Foxy

No, this is what I am referring to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_rule

Can I ask what any of the previous comments have to do with the substance of the Aker opinion piece?

Dennis

Good question, I was asking the same thing. In response to the Aker opinion piece, the multi-directional attack on Jason Akermanis did seem like everyone had reacted to his comments as though they had just heard out-aloud about something bottled up inside themselves. And whether this reaction was coming from the straight man in support of gays, or the same-sex attracted, or heterosexual males, or any other combination from either sex, the tensions being expressed was to do with them and their feelings about gay men in AFL sport – so Jason copped it from all sides. As the media storm created by Jason Akermanis abates, and the discussion has opened up, it is very revealing to hear what people really think about homophobia in sport.

As for the younger generation and the use of "that's so gay" it does not apparently mean what the next generation and beyond understand it to mean. "That's so gay" applies to anyone and its meaning has morphed into a kind of 'normal' jibe amongst the younger less fearful, less judgmental and bitter. It would be pretty difficult to argue that its origins were not with homophobia, but then the origins of all young people are with us.