Jason Ball (Australian activist)

Jason Ball
Born 16 January 1988
Residence South Yarra
Nationality Australian
Occupation Mental Health Advocacy

Jason Ball is an openly gay Australian Rules footballer who launched a campaign in 2012 calling on the Australian Football League (AFL) to do more to tackle homophobia. He is currently an ambassador for beyondblue - the national depression initiative.[1] He was included in The Age's Top 100 most influential Melbournians of 2012 and was amongst The Advocate's Top 25 Most Notable Comings Out of 2012.[2]

Background

Ball attended high school at Yarra Valley Grammar and completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne in 2010. He currently plays in the seniors squad for the Yarra Glen Football Club in the Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League. He currently works as a Government Liaison for Young and Well CRC[3]

AFL Pride Campaign

Ball started a petition on change.org on 9 September 2012 that called on the Australian Football League (AFL) to play No To Homophobia ads on the big screen of the 2012 AFL Grand Final and also commit to a Pride Round in 2013.[4] The petition received almost 30,000 signatures and gained national and international media coverage.[5][6][7][8]

On September 21, 2012 the AFL agreed to air the Say No to Homophobia ads during the Preliminary Finals.[9]

On December 16, 2012 it was announced that the AFL was considering a Pride Game between powerhouse clubs Sydney and Hawthorn during round 23 of the 2013 Season.[10][11] On May 19, 2013 the AFL said the themed match had been postponed due to scheduling issues.[12]

Ball was invited to address new AFL draftees at the AFL Players Association's induction camp on January 7, 2013 to speak about homophobia in sport.[13]

On January 11, 2013 it was announced that Ball would lead the 18th Pride March Victoria, along with his teammates from the Yarra Glen Football Club.[14] He was joined at Pride March Victoria by AFL footballers Brock McLean and Daniel Jackson, which marked the first time AFL players had been involved in the annual event.[15]

On May 17, 2013 the AFL Players Association launched a campaign for International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) called 'Footy4IDAHO' inspired by Jason's story.[16][17] The campaign featured some of the AFL's biggest names including Brownlow medallist Jobe Watson, Collingwood midfielders Scott Pendlebury and Luke Ball, and North Melbourne captain Andrew Swallow who all made a public pledge to never use homophobic language.[18]

In early 2014, all first-to-third-year AFL players were educated on the impact of homophobia as part of the league's Respect and Responsibility program, which included a documentary using Jason Ball's personal experience as a case study. [19]

On May 3 2014, Ball's team Yarra Glen and opposition Yarra Junction united for an inaugural 'Pride Cup' to promote inclusion and diversity, which saw the 50 metre lines painted as rainbows, the international symbol of gay pride, at each end of the ground. The AFL supported the event by hosting a pre-match function, and General Manager of Football Operations Mark Evans announced that the AFL would support a Pride Cup at the national level, and that it was up to clubs to show interest.[20]

On May 16 2014, it was revealed that St Kilda Football Club and Essendon Football Club were in talks with the AFL to potentially host the first Pride Cup at a national level in 2015.[21]

Ball is now the ambassador for the Safe Schools Coalition of Victoria, which is being rolled out Australia wide. He recently gave a speech at the National Safe Schools Symposium in Melbourne. [22]

Atheism

Ball was an organiser and spokesperson for the 2010 and 2012 Global Atheist Convention held in Melbourne, Victoria.[23][24] He presented at the 2012 Global Atheist Convention with a talk titled 'A Fresh Generation of Freethinkers is Among Us.'[25]

He was also the co-founder and President of the Freethought Student Alliance, a coalition of Australian atheist, secular, humanist and skeptic campus groups.[26]

External links

References

  1. ↑ http://www.beyondblue.org.au/connect-with-others/ambassadors/ambassador-profile/jason-ball
  2. ↑ http://www.advocate.com/year-review/2012-review/2012/12/28/year-review-2012-25-most-notable-comings-out
  3. ↑ http://www.youngandwellcrc.org.au/about/our-team/team/jason-ball/
  4. ↑ http://www.change.org/afl
  5. ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/i-didnt-know-any-footballers-who-were-gay-20120908-25ler.html
  6. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cHaU-tOka0
  7. ↑ http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-09/gay-footballer-calls-for-afl-pride-round/4251060
  8. ↑ http://www.advocate.com/sports/2012/09/10/aussie-footballer-comes-out-encourages-gay-acceptance-league
  9. ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/gay-ads-to-air-on-afls-big-screens-20120920-269l3.html
  10. ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/pride-v-prejudice-afl-shows-flag-20121215-2bgkt.html
  11. ↑ http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-16/afl-to-fly-rainbow-flag/4430614?section=sport
  12. ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/no-joy-for-gay-pride-as-afl-rules-out-themed-match-20130518-2jtli.html
  13. ↑ http://aflplayers.com.au/news/post/jason_ball_the_importance_of_inclusion
  14. ↑ http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/openly-gay-footballer-lead-pride-parade-melbourne110113
  15. ↑ http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/more-news/afl-players-join-gay-pride-march-for-first-time/story-e6frf9jf-1226567761373
  16. ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-stars-come-out-against-gay-slurs-20130504-2j0cf.html
  17. ↑ http://www.aflpa.com.au/news/post/afl_players_launch_footy4idaho/
  18. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nHUygNIa3E
  19. ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-spreads-word-on-homophobic-vilification-20140118-311rh.html
  20. ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/sport/football/the-day-football-burst-with-pride-20140503-zr3w6.html
  21. ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/bombers-and-saints-to-stage-afls-first-pride-cup-20140516-38ffv.html
  22. ↑ http://gaynewsnetwork.com.au/news/national/victorian-safe-schools-program-goes-national-14127.html
  23. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w04rutDcB-0
  24. ↑ http://www.thecityweekly.com.au/story/294070/true-non-believers/
  25. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3xPtcStMv4&list=PL7C0CA45F60FD44C7
  26. ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/national/atheist-conventions-first-secular-success-20100312-q499.html