The Football Association’s new Inclusion
Advisory board member has apologised for telling the BBC that
homosexuality is detestable. One of the board’s primary roles is to
tackle homophobia within the sport.
Former Birmingham City defender Michael Johnson was asked by the
BBC’s Nick Campbell if he would support the FA’s fight against
homophobia during a discussion programme in 2012. He replied:”Because of
my beliefs, because of the Bible that I read, in the Bible it does
state that homosexuality is detestable unto the Lord.”
The Inclusion Advisory Board will meet for the first time this month
and was created to “promote inclusion and tackle discrimination in all
its forms”.
Mr Johnson has now apologised for his comments after social media
users questioned his suitability for the post. Today in a statement to
the Guardian, he said: “I was invited on to the programme in March 2012
to talk about my faith. I was not prepared for the question and it is
with deep regret that I answered it in the way I did back then. It was
wrong and relates to a view I no longer hold,” Johnson said.
“I have since invested a great deal of my time and energies into
re-educating myself through reading, attending workshops and entering
into debates. As a result, my whole way of thinking has changed. The
Inclusion Advisory Board is all about education and changing opinions
and, through my own personal experience and learning, I believe I can
have a positive influence on the work being done by football on this
vital agenda.”
Former NBA player John Amaechi said: “The FA will say they have
brought this man on because of his expertise in anti-racism. The problem
is, the reason that homophobia, antisemitism, racism and other misogyny
continue to blight football is that the FA does not understand how to
tackle it. You don’t put one person to handle racism and a gay person
for homophobia, you pick people who understand that all bigotry is the
same monster.
“I don’t know this guy apart from shaking his hand at that TV
programme, but I would say this – the problem here was not his religion,
it was his interpretation of this. There are plenty of people who are
religious who would have been ideal candidates for this board, who could
have understood where their personal beliefs started and where human
dignity begins.
“The new quote from Michael Johnson is very welcome. It is good to
see he has evolved as an individual. However I maintain that the FA’s
problems with women, BAME and LGBT communities come from choosing never
to engage people who will challenge and educate them but rather insiders
who qualify as part of the minority-issue they are trying to address.
In general, they need more advice from scholars and less from former
players, however well meaning.”
Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell told the Guardian that Mr
Johnson’s apology “still doesn’t address the issue of whether the FA
properly researched Johnson’s views on tackling homophobia before he was
appointed. They still have questions to answer about his appointment
criteria and the procedure.
“The FA appears to have done no thorough research on their employees,
it looks slapdash and unprofessional. The FA would never appoint a
person who refused to support the campaign against racism. Why the
double standards?”
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