Story at a glance
- British Olympian Tom Daley will deliver Channel 4’s annual Alternative Christmas Message and is set to call out sports leagues for allowing countries with anti-LGBTQ+ laws to host major sporting events.
- Daley questions why the 2022 World Cup will be held in Qatar, one of the most dangerous places for LGBTQ+ people. He also slams Formula One racing for holding a grand prix in Saudi Arabia.
- The British Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton, a vocal LGBTQ+ ally, said earlier this month before a grand prix in Jeddah that Saudi Arabia’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws were “terrifying.”
The British Olympic diver Tom Daley slammed sports leagues for allowing countries that persecute LGBTQ+ people to host major sporting events in a speech that will air this weekend on British national television.
Daley, 27, says in recorded remarks for Channel 4’s annual Alternative Christmas Message, which will air on Dec. 25, that he is “incredibly lucky” to be supported by his sport in living as an out gay man, but acknowledges that not every athlete is afforded the same opportunity.
Homophobia is rampant in the world of professional sports, Daley says, praising the bravery of the Australian soccer player Josh Cavallo, who this year became the first top-flight men’s player in the world to come out as gay.
“Well done Josh, I mean, your courage is amazing. But just think for a moment about the number of players who are too scared to speak up, and how lonely that must be,” Daley says, according to a transcript of his message released this week by Channel 4.
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Daley then criticizes sports leagues for hosting major events in places where LGBTQ+ people feel unsafe.
“In 2022 the World Cup is being held in the second most dangerous country for queer people, Qatar. Why are we allowing places that aren’t safe for ALL fans and ALL players to host our most prestigious sporting events?” Daley asks. “Hosting a world cup is an honor. Why are we honoring them?”
Daley in his address also criticizes Formula One racing for holding a grand prix in Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality is punishable by death.
The British Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton, a vocal LGBTQ+ ally who won the Qatar Grand Prix earlier this year wearing a rainbow helmet, said Saudi Arabia’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws were “terrifying” and called on Formula One to address human rights issues in the countries it collaborates with.
“Do I feel comfortable here? I wouldn’t say I do,” Hamilton told the Guardian early this month, speaking before the Dec. 5 grand prix in Jeddah. “But it’s not my choice to be here, the sport has taken the choice to be here.”
Channel 4’s director of programs, Ian Katz, said in a statement that he and the network support Daley’s message of inclusivity.
“We are delighted that he is using The Alternative Christmas Message as a platform to speak out and raise an issue close to his heart — and ours,” Katz said. “It is shocking and depressing that our most popular sporting league remains an environment in which no gay player feels able to openly be themselves and we hope Tom’s message will make a small contribution to changing that.”
Channel 4’s Alternative Christmas Message, first aired in 1993, is an alternative to Queen Elizabeth II’s Royal Christmas Message.
Previous presenters have included whistleblower Edward Snowden, the Reverend Jesse Jackson and Marge Simpson. Last year’s message was delivered by a digitally created “deepfake” queen of England, a play on misinformation and fake news in a digital age.
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