Soccer Association President Suspended for Saying Sexuality Talks Aren’t Appropriate for Kids’ Sports

General view of the matchball during a Premier League match in a file photo. Alex Morton/Getty Images

A soccer association president has been suspended by the Central Alberta Soccer Association for an alleged email questioning what place sexuality talks have in children’s sports.

“Adults don’t need to discuss their sexual proclivities in order to participate in community sports,” Jon Mulder allegedly said in the email obtained by CBC.

Mr. Mulder’s email was in response to an earlier one sent out by a member of the Alberta Soccer Association promoting an Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) conference, according to the CBC.

The conference was to be hosted by Canada Soccer and was to focus on women and girls in soccer, LGBT+ inclusion, all-abilities soccer, anti-racism, and new-to-Canada participants in soccer, CBC reported.

“Only perverts and predators wish to discuss sex and sexuality with other people’s children,” wrote Mr. Mulder, who also reportedly said diversity initiatives “discriminate against Canadians, especially young males of European descent.”

The Epoch Times reached out to Mr. Mulder and the Alberta Soccer Association, but did not hear back by publication time.

The organizers of Canada Soccer’s conference are searching for initiatives in local soccer communities that can be promoted and celebrated at the conference, the CBC story said.

Mr. Mulder is said to have responded to the invitation with: “This isn’t great work. This ideology is proven to destroy everything wherever it is implemented.”

He also allegedly wrote that the conference was a “top-down imposition of radical left-wing ideology” and was “wholly inappropriate.”

Canada Soccer Partners With LGBT+ Group

It’s not the first time that sexuality and soccer have come together in Canada. In 2022, Canada Soccer announced a four-year partnership with You Can Play, an LGBT+ group promoting soccer and sports participation to diverse communities.

The announcement was made just as the FIFA World Cup kicked off in Qatar.

“We are announcing this now because we want the international conversations around LGBTQ2S+ issues in Qatar to continue well beyond the final whistle, and to recommit to ensuring that our own policies, teams, and the environments where we work and play are the safest they can be,” Canada Soccer general secretary Earl Cochrane said at the time.

The partnership included training for national teams and Canada Soccer staff and board members, as well as a review of Canada Soccer policies and programs, by You Can Play staff.

It also established an outreach hotline for Canada Soccer participants, a commitment to fund-raise for You Can Play, and a national education outreach program. A “dedicated Canada Soccer staff member” was also to be identified to manage and lead the partnership.