"I think the bigger thing we have to ask ourselves is, are these footballers actually social activists? Do they believe in the causes that we are led to believe that they feel very strongly about? I have never been convinced. By moving to Saudi Arabia, you can accuse Jordan Henderson of being part of a sportswashing programme. "Amnesty International has been very clear, they say Saudi Arabia has embarked on a programme of sportswashing to try to obscure its extremely poor human rights record. Sky Sports News senior reporter Melissa Reddy outlines how Steven Gerrard's influence helped Al-Ettifaq sign Liverpool's Jordan Henderson for £12m and how the move will be received by the LGBTQ+ community Are footballers actually social activists? And, like David Beckham, at the first chance of a multi-million pound deal he has gone to the highest bidder and it feels he's given up on the legacy that he's created." "It feels like we've got over-excited for a player doing, frankly, the bare minimum because he's one of the only ones doing that for our right to be included in the sport. That has travelled home and abroad following England and cheering him on and that feels deflating now. "That connection for us, as 3 Lions Pride, we have a banner with his goal celebration on from the game against Ukraine in the Euros where he scored wearing rainbow laces. It feels all of the nice words and effort he made beforehand were just a PR stunt. "For someone who has made the effort to be that extremely vocal, to meet with us and say how he supports our right to be able to watch football wherever our teams play in a safe environment and not be fearful for our own safety or face discrimination or even arrest, for him to then decide to play in a country that criminalises our existence and outlaws human rights organisations, really jars for people. Three Lions Pride Co-founder Joe White believes that the awareness that Jordan Henderson raised for the LGBTQ+ groups and human rights in general has been undone by his move to Saudi club Al Ettifaq Meanwhile, Liverpool's avatars on their Twitter and Instagram pages are the club crest on a rainbow flag. "We can't deny the reality of lives for the LGBTQ+ community in Saudi Arabia, and we hope that Henderson continues his work to build towards a world where sport is everybody's game" In the 10 years since our campaign started, public attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people in sport have improved considerably, and this is thanks in no small part to bold allyship from athletes such as Henderson," Robbie de Santos, director of external affairs at Stonewall told Sky Sports. "We are grateful to Jordan Henderson for using his platform to stand up for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports and fitness, including by wearing our Rainbow Laces. Stonewall, who run the Rainbow Laces campaign, have thanked Henderson for his work in the past - and hope it can continue in the future in Saudi Arabia. Kop Outs founder, Paul Amann says Jordan Henderson's former commitments with the LGBTQ+ community have been 'tarnished' following his move to Saudi Arabian side Al Ettifaq
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