A photograph of four Ghent rowers with the message 'same sport different sexuality' written on their chests has surfaced online and gone viral during the launch of a new anti-homophobia campaign.
The campaign, which specifically aims to raise awareness of homophobia in sport and sports clubs, was launched when the photo was posted on Tuesday on the Instagram account of one of the rowers in the photo.
The photo shows four men, standing bare-chested and side by side, with one word from the phrase ‘same sport different sexuality’ written on each of their chests in heavy black font.
“Today we are launching the first part of our campaign “same sport, different sexuality,” to raise awareness about homophobia in sports, which unfortunately is still a taboo,” a description that accompanies the Instagram photo explains.
“No one should have to hide their sexuality for fear of their teammates’ reactions. No one should have to be afraid to start playing sports for this reason. Sport is for everyone so let’s create a place of acceptance,” the caption accompanying the photo adds.
The campaign encourages heterosexuals who play sport to show acceptance by taking a picture with their LGBTQ teammates and posting it online using the hashtag #samesportdifferentsexuality.
Evie McCullough
The Brussels Times
