Australian sports organizations join forces against homophobia

Inclusion and anti-homophobia policies expected to be in place by August

Australia’s major sports organizations are joining forces to put an end to anti-gay discrimination, committing to an agreement to establish inclusion and anti-homophobia policies by August, Pink News reports.

Cricket Australia, the Australian Football League, the Australian Rugby Union, the National Rugby League, and the Football Federation of Australia will reportedly sign on to the agreement, a development that is being hailed as a defining moment in gay people’s fight to be treated with respect in the sports arena.

The report quotes Andrew Purchas, president of the Bingham Cup gay rugby tournament, as saying the sports bodies’ decision to act collectively on the issue signals a willingness to effect “systemic and fundamental change.”

Natasha Barsotti is originally from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. She had high aspirations of representing her country in Olympic Games sprint events, but after a while the firing of the starting gun proved too much for her nerves. So she went off to university instead. Her first professional love has always been journalism. After pursuing a Master of Journalism at UBC , she began freelancing at Xtra West — now Xtra Vancouver — in 2006, becoming a full-time reporter there in 2008.

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