Michael Dos Santos
Encyclopedia
Michael Dos Santos is a Brazilian volleyball player who currently plays for Vôlei Futuro
men's team. He became the first player in professional volleyball history to come out as gay.
, Minas Gerais
, in the first game of the Superliga male semifinals
between Sada Cruzeiro Vôlei and Vôlei Futuro, won by the team mining by 3 sets to 2, the player Michael was subjected to taunts of "Bicha! Bicha!" ("faggot") from supporters of Sada Cruzeiro, because of rumors concerning his sexual orientation. Four days after the game, dos Santos publicly acknowledged that he is gay, sparking an internal discussion within the volleyball sport culture. On April 9, 2011, in the second game of the Premiership in the Placido Rocha gym in Araçatuba
, Sao Paulo State, in which Vôlei won for 3 sevens and 2, the team issued a series of actions against the homophobia suffered by Michael. A giant banner calling for an end to prejudice was opened in the bleachers, while all fans received pink bats at the entrance of the Placido Rocha. The libero Mário Júnior, in turn, worked with a colored shirt.
Furthermore, the team called for Sada Cruzeiro to be sanctioned by the Brazilian Confederation of Volleyball due to the homophobic taunts from the bleachers, and the Confederation board fined Sada US$32,000 on April 13. The fine is being appealed.
Vôlei Futuro
The Grêmio Recreativo e Esportivo Reunidas, currently playing as Vôlei Futuro is the volleyball team of Araçatuba, São Paulo.-2011-2012 Women team:As of June 2011* Coach: Paulo Coco* 1st Assistant coach: Jorge Edson Souza de Brito...
men's team. He became the first player in professional volleyball history to come out as gay.
Coming out
On 1 April 2011, in the gymnasium of the Stream, in ContagemContagem
Contagem is a city in the center of the state of Minas Gerais, in Brazil. It is located only 21 kilometers from the capital, Belo Horizonte and forms part of a metropolitan area with a population of 4.8 million....
, Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
, in the first game of the Superliga male semifinals
Superliga Brasileira de Voleibol
The Superliga Brasileira de Voleibol is the top level Brazilian volleyball competition and it is organized by the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation. There are both men's and women's competitions...
between Sada Cruzeiro Vôlei and Vôlei Futuro, won by the team mining by 3 sets to 2, the player Michael was subjected to taunts of "Bicha! Bicha!" ("faggot") from supporters of Sada Cruzeiro, because of rumors concerning his sexual orientation. Four days after the game, dos Santos publicly acknowledged that he is gay, sparking an internal discussion within the volleyball sport culture. On April 9, 2011, in the second game of the Premiership in the Placido Rocha gym in Araçatuba
Araçatuba
Araçatuba is a city located in the northwest of São Paulo state, Brazil. The city has 181.579 inhabitants and 1,167.4 km² of area. The city name comes from the Tupi language and means "abundance of araçá "...
, Sao Paulo State, in which Vôlei won for 3 sevens and 2, the team issued a series of actions against the homophobia suffered by Michael. A giant banner calling for an end to prejudice was opened in the bleachers, while all fans received pink bats at the entrance of the Placido Rocha. The libero Mário Júnior, in turn, worked with a colored shirt.
Furthermore, the team called for Sada Cruzeiro to be sanctioned by the Brazilian Confederation of Volleyball due to the homophobic taunts from the bleachers, and the Confederation board fined Sada US$32,000 on April 13. The fine is being appealed.