Jock Talk: If you believe in human rights, do not watch the World Cup

For the first time in four decades, he will not watch the men's soccer World Cup. He was one of the founding members of a soccer program in high school and played for Ohio Wesleyan University. In Kodiak, Alaska, in the mid-1970s, and in Oakland, as deputy sports editor of Oakland Tribune, coordinated the World Cups coverage. FIFA and the tournament are built on corruption, excess, exploitation, racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. and Qatar is hosting the event. The tournament begins on November 20.

The World Cup in Qatar is being held in a country that is notorious for human rights abuses. The report by the labor and human right's advocacy group Equidem documents such incidents as physical assaults on workers and coercive threats made to compel workers to comply with inhumane conditions. There have been dozens of deaths of migrant workers in the country.

Sepp Blatter was president of FIFA from 1998 until he was forced out by multiple scandals and allegations of corruption in 2015. FIFA awarded the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 Cup in Qatar. Qatar is a small country. It is hostile to the LGBTQ+ community. Homosexuality is illegal in the country and punishable by seven years imprisonment. Khalid Salman, a former Qatari soccer player, said that gays who wanted to attend the World Cups should accept their rules. He is an official ambassador for the Qatar World cup organizing committee. He's not saying to tune out the tournament because he's gay.