Group+Discussion+Themes


 * Article by Jillian, Stefano and Ebony**

European Soccer's Racism Problem
After racist chants in stadiums in Italy and Spain last weekend brought African players to tears, the European Union and soccer's governing body are planning to get tougher on soccer's major problem. On soccer pitches across Belgium this weekend, players will wear a black and white stripe on their faces. In Italy, an anti-racism banner will be unveiled before the opening whistle of every top Italian league and Italian Cup match. The measures, organized by the Belgian and Italian leagues, follow another shameful weekend of racism in European soccer. On Sunday, Messina's Ivory Coast defender Marc Zoro threatened to walk off the field after fans of his team's opponents, Inter Milan, repeatedly hurled racial epithets at him. Two Espanyol of Barcelona players, the Cameroon goalkeeper Carlos Kameni and the Brazilian midfielder Fredson, were subjected to racist chants in Madrid by fans of opponent Atletico Madrid. Though hardly a new problem in the Spanish and Italian leagues, both European soccer's governing body as well as the European Parliament have promised to throw the book at violators and disperse the dark cloud hanging over European soccer. "We are prepared to implement the necessary sanctions, from fines and closure of stadiums, and even to not allow teams to participate in competitions," said Per Ravn Omdal, the vice president of UEFA. EU legislators are proposing a law that could stop games in which players are racially abused as well as punish the guilty clubs and national federations. Persistent offenders will be permanently removed from competition, should the new law go through. If more than half of the EU parliament signs the declaration, it will become a resolution with the possibility of becoming law. //Bildunterschrift: Italy's anti-racism shirts have done little to stop the problem// The strong measures came about after the Zoro incident created headlines around the world. In the 66th minute of his team's match against Inter Milan, he picked up the ball, planning to hand it to the fourth referee official as he walked off the pitch. Inter Milan stars Adriano, a Brazilian, and Nigerian forward Obafemi Martins, intervened. They pleaded with their fans to stop and convinced Zoro, who was in tears, to continue playing. Omdal would like to see referees take more initiative in suspending or stopping matches marred by racist chants or taunts. "Referees will be given the necessary power to abandon or cancel matches if necessary," he said. "We need referees and match officials to be tough on this issue. If they have been asleep then they need to wake up." //Bildunterschrift: Fascist fans wave flags ahead of a game of Rome's Lazio club// European soccer has paid particularly close attention to racism in recent years after several high-profile incidents. World governing body FIFA fined the Spanish Football Association 100,000 Swiss francs ($87,340) after Spanish fans directed racist chants at black English players Thierry Henry and Shaun Wright-Phillips during a match between the two national teams in November 2004. The Spanish FA fined national team coach Luis Aragones 3,000 euros for racist remarks he made about Henry to his team, a figure that was slammed by anti-racism campaigners as far too low. Serbian striker Nenad Jestrovic became the first player to be dismissed in a Champion's League match for alleged racist comments while his side, Anderlecht of Belgium, played against Liverpool earlier in the month. UEFA banned him for three matches.
 * From fines to bans**
 * Player, in tears, tries to stop match**
 * Soccer's racism problem nothing new**

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1798795,00.html

Posted by Jocelyn, Alex, Courtney and Adam
 * Free Genarlow Wilson.**

When he was a senior in high school, he received oral sex from a 10th grader. He was 17. She was 15. Everyone, including the girl and the prosecution, agreed she initiated the act. But because of an archaic Georgia law, it was a misdemeanor for teenagers less than three years apart to have sexual intercourse, but a felony for the same kids to have oral sex. Afterward, the state legislature changed the law to include an oral sex clause, but that doesn't help Wilson. In yet another baffling twist, the law was written to not apply to cases retroactively, though another legislative solution might be in the works. He was a good student, with a 3.2 grade point average. He was popular, the school's homecoming king, liked by students and teachers. He never got into any trouble with the law. He was a track and football star. Wilson now cringes at some of the mistakes he made in high school. He admits he wasn't perfect. Far from it. He drank. He smoked pot. He'd been sexually active since he was 13. And a month or so after that final playoff game, he and some buddies were plotting a New Year's Eve bash. His mama heard them whispering in his bedroom that afternoon. She knew kids whispering usually meant trouble, so she went in and looked those boys up and down. "Don't do anything stupid," she warned. Genarlow Wilson and his friends checked into the Days Inn right off Interstate 20. At some point in the night, according to court documents and evidence presented at trial, some girls came over to party with them. Bourbon and marijuana were consumed. One of the young men turned on a video camera.Later in the evening, a 17-year-old girl began to have sex with the young men, first in the bathroom, then on the bed. Genarlow is captured on tape appearing to have sex with the girl from behind. Her hand is clearly visible on the floor supporting herself. Witnesses said she was a willing participant. The next morning, the girl awoke in a stupor, wearing nothing but her socks. She called her mother and said she had been raped. Police came to the room after sunrise and took the revelers in for questioning. Genarlow had already gone home -- he didn't want to miss curfew -- but the video camera remained.On tape, the cops saw a 15-year-old girl, a 10th-grader, performing oral sex on a partygoer and, after finishing with him, turning and performing the act on Genarlow. She was the instigator, according to her mother's testimony. Problem was, the girl was a year under the age of consent. Local prosecutors called the act aggravated child molestation, following the letter and not the spirit of the law, which was designed to prosecute pedophiles. A week later, on the first day of the second semester of his senior year, the police went to the school and arrested the boys. Wilson was charged with four felonies and taken from the building in handcuffs. Not long before, he'd been in the newspaper for being all-conference in football. Now, he was on the front page, branded a rapist and child molester. "It was like I had everything one day," he says, "and the next day I didn't have anything." The Bernstein FirmIf he had accepted the plea bargain, Wilson would've had to register as a sex offender and wouldn't have been permitted to live in the same house as his younger sister.Wilson refused to admit to being a child molester. If he pled to or was convicted of any charge that put him on the sex offender registry, he couldn't live at home with his younger sister. He wouldn't accept that, so he waited for his trial. In February 2005, Genarlow Wilson walked into a courtroom. Two charges already had been dropped, and it was clear from the first witness that the rape charge wouldn't stick either. The aggravated child molestation, though, was on tape. Genarlow tried to defend himself against the assigned prosecutor, Eddie Barker. "Sir," Wilson told him, "you don't even know me. I understand you're just doing your job, sure, but I mean, how would you feel if you were my age and you were put on the stand with these serious charges at this young age? I have a little sister. Why would I molest anyone, sir?" "I'm not on trial here, Mr. Wilson," Barker said. "You're the one who did these acts, not me." The trial finished that afternoon, and the jury came back with "not guilty" on the rape but "guilty" on the aggravated child molestation. He looked at the forewoman. She was crying, seeming to understand they'd just undone a promising future. Indeed, when the jurors found out there was a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence, several were incensed. The prosecution told them to write a letter, then moved on to the next case. Genarlow Wilson put his head in his hands and wept. Once identified as a promising football prospect, Wilson is now just known as inmate No. 1187055. Deputies yanked him from his seat. Not long after, Prisoner 1187055 found himself in the predawn darkness, riding in a bus, surrounded not by his teammates but by murderers, thieves and rapists. Some were headed to the penitentiary for the second or third time. A scared kid looked out the window as the bus chewed up pavement. He didn't know what it was going to be like, only that he didn't want to go. He has followed his appeals from behind bars. He watched as the state legislature changed the law that put him there, then declined to make it retroactive, for reasons that still boggle the mind. The first time the Supreme Court voted on Genarlow's case, it was 4-3. The four judges who voted against the black teen were white. The three judges who voted for him were black.
 * Something Stupid**
 * Doing Hard Time**

Wilson's Appeal
At the same time this trial was under way, a local high school teacher, a white female, was found guilty of having a sexual relationship with a student -- a true case of child molestation. The teacher received 90 days. Wilson received 3,650 days.

His mom has the house ready for him because any day now, her baby's coming back. She just knows it. Over past the dryer, that's his new bedroom. She picked it because it's close to the garage, so he could come and go as he pleases. She thought he deserved that. Everything's set, in case it's tomorrow. She left the rapper posters rolled up, figuring a man would be coming home. She set out his football trophies and his high school diploma, to remind him what he used to be. She hooked up a television and a stereo. An alarm clock is on the nightstand, so he can get himself up for school. Even the bed is made.The only thing missing is her son.
 * Hanging On To Hope**

//Wright Thompson is a senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. He can be reached at wrightespn@gmail.com.//

//by// [|//DCDemocrat//]
//Fri Jul 22, 2005 at 07:22:49 AM PDT//Two gay teenagers were executed three days ago in Iran on July 19. The present diary again provides those pictures for those who missed the diary yesterday, offers some information about these state sanctioned murders, and provides some suggestions about protesting to the Government of Iran and our own government. I never have asked for a recommendation for a diary before. I ask you to recommend this diary for those boys who were murdered by their government three days ago for the crime of being gay. **These boys are crying to me from their graves.**

Two gay Iranian teenagers -- one 18, the other believed to be 16 or 17, were executed this week for the "crime" of homosexuality, on July 19. The two youths -- identified only by their initials as M.A. and A.M., were hanged on July 19 in Edalat (Justice) Square in the city of Mashhad in north-eastern Iran, on the orders of Court No. 19. The hanging of the teens was also reported by the National Council of Resistance of Iran. "I am utterly aghast. These boys are so young. With the ropes around their necks, they still seem so nonchalant, but the second photograph makes apparent the depth of their grief." The links at Ireland's site have stories that report that the executions were sufficiently horrifying even to people in Iran that the executioners had to hide their identities with masks. This is a crime against humanity. We cannot bring these boys back to life. The injustice against them is complete, total, and irrevocable. But in the memory of them, please take a moment to write a letter of protest, send an e-mail that communicates your disgust, launch a fax against the horror perpetrated by these murderers against such young people. The Interest Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the United States has a [|web site]. They provide requests@daftar.org as an e-mail address. You can write and fax: Iranian Representative Interest Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran 2209 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20007 Tel: (202) 965-4990 Fax: (202) 965-1073 You may write, telephone, or fax the Iranian ambassador in Canada: Ambassador Seyed Mouhammad Ali Moosavi, Embassy of Iran, 245 Metcalfe St., Ottawa, Ontario .K2P 2K2 Canada Telephone (OO1-613- 235-4726, 233-4726; Fax, 233-5712 Let's imagine that the worst is true, something that may be impossible to know given conditions in Iran. Two boys 14 and 16 rape a 13-year-old at knifepoint. Even in the most blood thirsty states in our country, they would not get the death penalty. But this cover is way too easy. Consider these facts: 1. OutRage reports that Iran has killed more than 4,000 gay men and women since 1979. 2. Pictures finally leak out and horrify the world. 3. Guess what, out of the 4,000 they have killed, these two boys were malicious rapists. The story is just too convenient. Indeed, as Doug Ireland suggests in the above linked blog, "The Iranian authorities are putting out a cover story that the two boys had participated in the rape of a 13-year-old, //**but OutRage affirms from its sources that this accusation is a smokescreen for inhuman conduct and is without foundation."**// //**[Further Update]** One more note, and another reason that this story is important. OutRage reports:// [|//Three other young gay Iranians are being hunted by the police, but they have gone into hiding and cannot be found. If caught, they will also face execution.//]
 * [Update]** slw0606 reports below in the thread, "One little known fact is these boys were 'accused' of raping a 13-year-old boy at knifepoint." I agree with slw06006 who writes, "However, I have my doubts about their actual crime. They may have been having consensual sex with this 13-year-old boy, if they did anything with him, and one can debate if that is a crime." Indeed, it seems odd that no one who has read the reports in Farsi has reported that detail of the story.