Hear the drums, Orlando
The weekend before last, I watched a sporting event which could have been magnificently awesome, was still a bit awesome, but also pretty awful.
You may have heard of Orlando Cruz, a talented Puerto Rican featherweight contender who is also the first professional boxer ever to officially come out during his career.
Like football (see Justin Fashanu) boxing does not have good previous on accepting homosexuality. The great Emile Griffith (who never, as such, came out) was taunted for his sexuality by his rival Benny Paret. The awful result in that less regulated age - Griffith, enraged, beat Paret to death in the ring.
So Orlando Cruz was going pretty boldly into an intimidating place when he came out last year. Officially, the response was excellent, warm respect etc Great stuff. And he won a couple of fights, and got a world title fight.
His opponent, Orlando Salido, a card-carrying badass who has walked through some of the promising young fighters in the world, a real world class man of steel. Hardly the easiest shot, but Cruz reckoned he could outbox him.
And, it should be said, Salido, a macho Mexican who does have a ban for steroids in his past, was completely respectful in the build-up, the fight and the aftermath. Terrible if he hadn't been. Boxers bring out all kinds of nasty chat in fight build-ups some time, but, thankfully, not this time.
Sadly, the boxing public were a little less enlightened. The whistle and boos for Cruz from the mainly Mexican crowd in Vegas were clearly audible. I've heard many fight crowds and this wasn't just a pro-Salido crowd. The nasty edge was palpable.
So, the fight started and Cruz tried to outbox Salido, staying out of range and trying to pick him off. Hard to score those first few rounds, Salido was clearly the stronger fighter but Cruz was doing ok. The Sky commentators are good guys, but there was some unfortunate unconscious sterotyping going on, referring to Cruz's "fancy dan moves" and the possibility he was "fragile".
Salido clearly hurt Cruz in the 4th, at which point Cruz stopped moving, planted his feet and tried to trade with Salido.
And it looked like it was working. He really started to come into the fight, and in the 6th I contemplated that we may be seeing one of the most glorious upturnings of vile stereotypes in sport's history, that Cruz would show all those macho bigots who was the real hard man. What a statement it would have been if he'd out-toughed one of the toughest men in boxing.
It didn't happen. Salido reasserted his power and stopped Cruz with a brutal uppercut in the 7th. He's a decent boxer but not quite top level. Perhaps he'll get another chance against a less forbidding foe.
Again, the official (i.e. civilised) response was excellent. The boxing journos rightly asserted that Cruz was showing bravery above and beyond most boxers, that he had acquitted himself well, done himself, his country and boxing proud.
But the booing and jeering had been unmistakable. And in the less civilised comments sections I, for my sins, often turn to, the "banter" was sickening, and not really from a tiny minority either.
That's sport. Sport is macho. Sport is bigoted. Sport is so far behind the rest of progressive western society in accepting homosexuality, it pains me as sport's greatest fan. Of course it is.
When and how will it change? How many Orlandos? I fully saw what heavy responsibility these role models will have as this cause progresses. What weight there was on Orlando Cruz to win, not just for himself, but to represent something about humanity, and drum a message into the boo boys. That he didn't is no shame on him, but it is a shame.
You may have heard of Orlando Cruz, a talented Puerto Rican featherweight contender who is also the first professional boxer ever to officially come out during his career.
Like football (see Justin Fashanu) boxing does not have good previous on accepting homosexuality. The great Emile Griffith (who never, as such, came out) was taunted for his sexuality by his rival Benny Paret. The awful result in that less regulated age - Griffith, enraged, beat Paret to death in the ring.
So Orlando Cruz was going pretty boldly into an intimidating place when he came out last year. Officially, the response was excellent, warm respect etc Great stuff. And he won a couple of fights, and got a world title fight.
His opponent, Orlando Salido, a card-carrying badass who has walked through some of the promising young fighters in the world, a real world class man of steel. Hardly the easiest shot, but Cruz reckoned he could outbox him.
And, it should be said, Salido, a macho Mexican who does have a ban for steroids in his past, was completely respectful in the build-up, the fight and the aftermath. Terrible if he hadn't been. Boxers bring out all kinds of nasty chat in fight build-ups some time, but, thankfully, not this time.
Sadly, the boxing public were a little less enlightened. The whistle and boos for Cruz from the mainly Mexican crowd in Vegas were clearly audible. I've heard many fight crowds and this wasn't just a pro-Salido crowd. The nasty edge was palpable.
So, the fight started and Cruz tried to outbox Salido, staying out of range and trying to pick him off. Hard to score those first few rounds, Salido was clearly the stronger fighter but Cruz was doing ok. The Sky commentators are good guys, but there was some unfortunate unconscious sterotyping going on, referring to Cruz's "fancy dan moves" and the possibility he was "fragile".
Salido clearly hurt Cruz in the 4th, at which point Cruz stopped moving, planted his feet and tried to trade with Salido.
And it looked like it was working. He really started to come into the fight, and in the 6th I contemplated that we may be seeing one of the most glorious upturnings of vile stereotypes in sport's history, that Cruz would show all those macho bigots who was the real hard man. What a statement it would have been if he'd out-toughed one of the toughest men in boxing.
It didn't happen. Salido reasserted his power and stopped Cruz with a brutal uppercut in the 7th. He's a decent boxer but not quite top level. Perhaps he'll get another chance against a less forbidding foe.
Again, the official (i.e. civilised) response was excellent. The boxing journos rightly asserted that Cruz was showing bravery above and beyond most boxers, that he had acquitted himself well, done himself, his country and boxing proud.
But the booing and jeering had been unmistakable. And in the less civilised comments sections I, for my sins, often turn to, the "banter" was sickening, and not really from a tiny minority either.
That's sport. Sport is macho. Sport is bigoted. Sport is so far behind the rest of progressive western society in accepting homosexuality, it pains me as sport's greatest fan. Of course it is.
When and how will it change? How many Orlandos? I fully saw what heavy responsibility these role models will have as this cause progresses. What weight there was on Orlando Cruz to win, not just for himself, but to represent something about humanity, and drum a message into the boo boys. That he didn't is no shame on him, but it is a shame.
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