Be prepared to handle hate speech and discrimination

Summary of key points:

Hate speech and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people must be met with a clear reaction there and then.

The club leadership must ensure that everyone feels safe enough to enforce the club’s values, even when they face resistance from athletes, supporters, or other actors.

Even with strong preventative work, clubs must be ready to act immediately when discrimination occurs.

Immideate response sends a clear message

Delayed reactions create doubt. A quick, clear response reinforces club values and ensures safety for all athletes.

Coaches, leaders, referees, and support staff must be trained to act decisively.

Support and backing

Staff must know they’ll be backed by leadership when addressing discrimination.

Club leadership must ensure that clear guidelines are in place and well communicated.

Action cards as tools

Provide clear, role-specific cards with instructions for responding to incidents. The action cards developed by Nordland Sports District and the Equality Center KUN in “Power Drive for Diversity” are excellent templates.

These cards should:

  • Be distributed actively to coaches, leaders, referees and organizers.
  • Be included in training. to know what is expected when they encounter hateful speech and discrimination.
  • Be easily accessible at sports venues and events, to be used when needed.

 

Related:

Also read

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Do you think some of the words we use are difficult?

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