This is the second vertical AI BL drama I've sat through, and honestly I went in knowing better. I had it on while I was doing cardio at the gym, and what struck me was just how much the plot echoed the last one I watched. Same step brother romance angle, same mystery girlfriend showing up near the end, same extra guy pining after one of the leads. Genuinely the only thing going for it was the runtime, the whole thing wrapped up in forty five minutes flat. The setup kicks off with Finn moving schools because his mom just married into money. He finds out his new step brother Aiden goes to the same place, and he's warned to keep his distance from him. Their first run in at school is rocky, just like you'd expect, but there's this odd pull between them neither can shake off. Finn keeps telling himself not to read into it because Aiden's straight and openly homophobic. Things shift when some kids start bullying Finn and the student council president, Ryan, steps in to ...
When Thomas was assaulted because of his sexuality, he has been seeking to include homophobic abuse in the 1991 Football Offences Act so it is dealt with in the same way as racism on the pitch. While he had already been lobbying for the change for years, he said the assault made him realise quite how harmful hate speech can be and it further spurred him on. The documentary starts with him trying to get an idea of history of using gay abuses and hurls towards both players and fans and how it was always considered ok and non-offensive. But times have changed. He goes into locker room and talks to both male and female teams about how they feel about the whole issue. He surprisingly sees lot of positive changes where players are a lot more open about having gay team members and sexuality should not stop a good player from showing their skills. Gareth eventually enlists the help of the UK's Parliament as he attempts to outlaw abuse in football stadiums. He also recruits Cardiff City, Leeds United and Norwich City football teams into his campaign to tackle homophobia in the boardroom, the dressing room and on the terraces. All of this while coping with being the victim of a violent homophobic attack himself.
At just under an hour, this documentary is a wonderful reminder of how even though we have progressed a lot, we are still way behind in many ways while we continue to evolve with LGBT+ rights in the sports industry. I liked that the subject is always focused and doesn't go too much into back story or sob story for no reason. It shows the effort that Gareth puts in to get a law passed (whether it happens or not is to be seen), but nonetheless it was a very informative documentary. He says he wants to create an environment where an openly gay footballer can walk into a club and know he is not going to receive abuse for his sexuality. (5.5/10)
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