Monaco soccer star Mohamed Camara has been suspended for four games for taping over a pro-LGBTQ patch on his uniform during a match against Nantes.
On May 19, Camara and his squad played their final Ligue 1 match of the season, a 4-0 win for Monaco. Camara, who is from the African nation of Mali, placed a piece of white tape over a team-sponsored badge that had the word “homophobia” crossed out, an emblem intended to show the team’s support of the LGBTQ community. Additionally, Camara did not partake in the team’s pre-match photo in front of a banner that displayed the same message.
From @TheAthleticFC: Monaco midfielder Mohamed Camara has been banned for four matches after covering up an anti-homophobia message on his shirt. "Mo did this for religious reasons," said his manager. "It’s a very sensitive subject." https://t.co/yBtXf1m9fC
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 31, 2024
The fact that Camara did both of these things shouldn’t be a huge surprise. He is a practicing Muslim (as are nearly 95 percent of all Malians), and Islam does not support homosexuality.
The Malian Football Federation supported Camara, and said his right to express his views must be protected, explaining, "It is important to remember that players are citizens like any others, whose fundamental rights must be protected in all circumstances."
However, Camara's move (unsurprisingly) enraged many in France, including French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra. She was the among the first to call for strict punishment to be dished out on Camara, and said that his actions were, in essence, a crime.
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"Homophobia is not an opinion, it's a crime," she wrote on X. "And homophobia kills. There must be strict punishment for Mohamed Camara."
She got her wish, in the form of the suspension handed out by the French football league (LFP). But this reaction is completely unjustified.
There is no universal rule that says you have to support the LGBT agenda, and face punishment if you don’t. While progressives think that you have to support this worldview at all costs, that’s simply not the case. It’s not a crime to hold your personal or religious views as more important than this toxic ideology.
Camara will likely have to face this punishment with no hope of having it lifted. But his courage to stand against this agenda will not go unnoticed.
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