In the land of homophobic Brazilian soccer, the man with a gavel is king. (We slay ourselves with modified adages.) Judge Manoel Maximiniano Junqueira Filho has thrown out the case of a soccer player who sued a rival coach for accusing him of being gay on TV, not for any legitimate reason but on the grounds that there’s no room in the sport for dudes who like dudes—so why dignify that whole sexual preference thing by hearing about it in court? (A complaint has been lodged, as well as an appeal of the overturning. To us, relying on the Brazilian legal system doesn’t seem like the best move here.) And the plot sickens, with the following translated excerpts from Filho’s ruling. Everyone knows calling for segregation is the best way to correct the way people consider Latin America backwards:

It’s not that a homosexual can’t play ball. If he wants, than play it. However, form his own team and start another federation.

What follows on the heels of suggesting a ‘separate but equal’ policy? Why, slavish devotion to uniformity, of course:

What is not reasonable is the acceptance of homosexuals in Brazilian soccer because they would harm the uniformity of thinking of the team, the togetherness, the balance, and the ideal.

But don’t assume he’s got bad intentions or anything. He’s just looking out for the common spectator. Specifically, the kind that’s as ignorant as him:

Not even to mention the uncomfortable feeling of the fan, who wants to go to the stadium, sometimes with his son, and see his beloved team succeeding in the competition, instead of losing oneself in analysis of the behavior of this or that athlete with an obvious personality or existential problem

And the kicker:

Jeez, if this fad catches on, soon we will have a quota system, forcing the access of so many of them per team.

We wonder if a quota system is what led to such an asshole becoming judge.

Judge shows homophobia’s grip on Brazil in ruling against soccer player [William K. Wolfrum via Deadspin]
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