The United States’ recent victory over Mexico in a highly anticipated soccer match was prematurely halted due to anti-gay chants emanating from the crowd. And the goalie for the U.S. Men’s National Team is speaking out.
Matt Turner, who also plays for Arsenal FC in England’s Premier League, said the homophobic cries from Mexico fans were insulting and disgraceful.
“It goes against everything we stand for,” he told reporters. “We’ve been very vocal about the strength of our team being our diversity, the strength of our nation being its diversity. So, to use something so divisive…it has no place in the game.”
U.S. interim head coach B.J. Callaghan made similar remarks. “In terms of the chant, I want to make it very clear first and foremost, for our beliefs and our culture, it has no place in the game,” he said, via the AP. “It has no place in our value system.”
Matt was visibly uncomfortable taking goal kicks at the end of the game. Definitely not lip service coming from him
— The REAL Arch Baron Cup Historian (@EricPitlyk) June 16, 2023
Mexico fans chanting anti-gay slurs during matches has been a long-standing problem. For years, they’ve chanted the word “puto,” a slur equivalent to the word “f*g” in Engish and that’s banned by FIFA, soccer’s international governing body.
Just two months ago, fans shouted the ugly word at the U.S. Men’s National Team during a friendly in Arizona.
Last March, Mexico fans started chanting the word during the final minutes of a World Cup qualifier against the U.S. The match was held at Estadio Azteca in Mexico. Prior to that, the Mexican Football Federation announced any fans who chanted anti-gay slurs would be banned from stadiums for five years.
Clearly, that threat hasn’t been a deterrent. Mexico fans have shouted the pejorative at matches since at least 2014.
In the lead-up to the 2018 World Cup, the Mexican soccer federation was fined nine times alone, in addition to 15 other national federations, for fans engaging in homophobic behavior during matches.
Ultimately, the responsibility lies with FIFA to stop this ugly phenomenon. The organization has already sanctioned Mexico’s men’s soccer team over the issue and opened two investigations. But those efforts haven’t been enough.
More players need to speak out, like Turner.
This Pride Month, we’ve seen multiple high-profile pro athletes express their support for the LGBTQ+ community during these highly divisive times. Last weekend, New York Mets outfielder Mark Canha, one of the most outspoken LGBTQ+ allies in baseball, celebrated Pride with Madonna, Gaga and Taylor Swift.
Each time he stepped up to the plate, gay pop anthems were blaring throughout Citi Field.
While several MLB players have expressed their opposition to Pride, such as former Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Bass and homophobic Red Sox hurler Matt Dermody, it’s important to remember the ones who stand with LGBTQ+ people. Look at the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Pride Night.
The team’s decision to honor the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and ensuing blowback they received captured headlines for weeks. But in the end, it was a highly successful event, and every player even wore a rainbow-logo hat.
Star Washington Nationals closer Sean Doolittle also voiced support for the Sisters, despite playing across the country. “Sending love and support to all my LGBTQIA+ friends and family! You are beautiful and you are enough and your existence is not up for debate. Be proud and know that you are loved,” he tweeted earlier this month.
To kick off Pride Month, MLB stars Marcus Stroman and Julio Rodriguez also showed major support for their LGBTQ+ fans.
But perhaps no athlete’s pro-LGBTQ+ message rang louder than champion pro wrestler CM Punk’s, given the forum. The decorated grappler made an impassioned stand for LGBTQ+ youth inside of the squared circle, which historically hasn’t been a bastion for love and inclusivity.
“The reason I support trans kids trans, grownups, gay, straight, lesbian, whoever is because I know when I was growing up, I didn’t fit in anywhere,” he said in his now-viral speech. “It was because of the clothes I wore, what my hair looked like, the music I listened to, those are all things I could rectify. I could cut my hair, I could listen to jazz. I don’t know what. But to be somebody who’s gay, lesbian, especially trans, I don’t know what it feels like to be trapped in a body that I don’t feel I belong.”
It’s one thing for sports teams and organizations to take pro-LGBTQ+ stances. But it just matters more when the message comes from the athletes themselves.
The U.S. is a melting pot of diversity. Kudos to Turner, and other athletes, for pointing that out.
chinadad
And yet Mexico is cohosting the 2026 World Cup with Canada and the US. I understand it can be difficult to enforce the ban on a stadium full of fans. So play to an empty stadium. Start removing entire sections. The fans know this is banned behavior but choose to participate.