Brazilian fans show thunderous support for gay male volleyball star

Yep, those are pink thundersticks, which are now just as popular in Brazil as men’s volleyball, which is very popular. They’re being wielded by fans of Volei Futuro, during a match against Sada Cruzeiro, in honor of one of their players, Michael (Santos), who had been the victim of homophobic slurs from opposing fans in a match the week before, writes Rick Chandler from NBC Sports.


In that match, some fans yelled “Bicha! Bicha!” which translates to “f****t.” Michael revealed his homosexuality following the match and has since become a hero in much of Brazil for his courage and openness.

While I can’t imagine a U.S. sports crowd yelling “f****t” in unison at an athlete (our idiots prefer to sling their bile anonymously on message boards), I also can’t imagine U.S. fans being this supportive of a player who has come out.