A space “without violence, of respect and tolerance for sexual diversity and against racial and gender discrimination.” This is how the Extremadura Assembly understands sports practice and, therefore, invites all groups, all federations, sports clubs and associations to transmit these values.
The Regional Chamber has described as “very reprehensible” the episodes of violence in the world of sports, especially those that have occurred recently in the non-professional or school environment. And it has done so through an institutional declaration agreed upon by the four parliamentary groups and read at the beginning of last Thursday’s session by the first secretary of parliament, Eugenio Romero.
The Extremaduran deputies consider that the fight against violence in sport must be done by reducing tolerance regarding the violent practices that exist in many events. In this sense, they understand that education must be one of the most important preventive actions and that it must be aimed at spreading the rejection of violence among youth and children, as well as directing information campaigns to the rest of society focused on need for fair play and raising awareness of the values to be transmitted through sport.
Among the positive values that sports practice promotes are harmony, teamwork, self-improvement, coexistence and respect, fundamental aspects “in a society that is progressing towards an egalitarian and equitable social system,” reads the declaration.
Furthermore, sport is understood as a “vehicle of communication” and “tool of social mobilization”, so “special care must be taken with the messages that are transmitted from the sports field.” For this reason, “the lack of consideration of equality between men and women in sports, racial and sexual orientation discrimination, are social problems that surround violence in sports and that should be eradicated with education.”