Víctor Gutiérrez, LGTBI water polo player: «They keep yelling 'faggot' at us in the stadiums and no one lifts a finger«
Víctor Gutiérrez publishes a book in which he summarizes his experiences as a water polo player and in which he denounces all the prejudices rooted in sport against people LGTBIQ +. “If there are two things that define who I am, they are water polo and my identity” explains the water polo player in “Yellow ball, rainbow flag” (Dome Books, 2022).
Based on her personal history and her relevant role as an activist, Gutierrez puts on the table the difficulties to which the collective LGTBIQ + faces in sport, and the importance of making sexual diversity visible. Despite the fact that there are more and more athletes who dare to take the step and make their orientation visible, the LGBTophobia and discrimination are still present in the stands and locker rooms, and the same behaviors continue to be reproduced as 40 years ago. In "Yellow ball, rainbow flag” forcefully denounces this reality that is still present in our society, especially in mainstream sports.
sport and activism
En 2016 broke a symbolic barrier by appearing on the cover of the magazine Shangay, where he publicly manifested himself as homosexual. He was the first spanish athlete who took that step. In 2021 denounced after a League match the homophobic insult of a rival, who was sanctioned for it by the Spanish Swimming Federation. That also set a precedent. Gutierrez, a graduate in Journalism and Audiovisual Communication, and trained as an educator in sport and diversity, months later accepted the offer to be the LGTBI secretary of the PSOE, a newly created organic position in the party. He now takes another step in the fight he has embarked on to combat homophobia in sport.
“The objective of the book is not only to put my story on the table, but also to reflect on the difficulties that people LGTBI we face each other in the world of sports in general and in elite sports in particular. Because every time I have the opportunity to speak in the media or have public exposure, I receive many comments that what I do is no longer necessary: that we can now get married and so on. They really do not know the difficulties we face, which go far beyond simple visibility. Since you are 10 or 11 years old and you start to have a little sexual instinct, you come into conflict with yourself. Getting ahead in this situation is complicated".
