Russia Accuses EA Of LGBT Propaganda Over Including Rainbow Shoelaces Soccer Players Wore In Real Life

from the it's-in-the-game dept

Fri, Dec 9th 2016 4:53pm — Timothy Geigner

As you will recall, in 2013 Russia instituted a delightfully obtuse piece of legislation that made it illegal to disseminate "propaganda" within the country that centered around "non-traditional sexual relationships." This law, designed essentially to both push the LBGT community back into the closet and to effectively criminalize being too gay in public, has butted heads with modernity several times now. The silver lining in this is that the law's practical application has forced its supporters to publicly display exactly how petty and silly they are, as powerful legislators attempt to take action against such virile threats as emojis. Coupled with the Russian governments worry that American streaming media might be a form of HAARP-style mind-control, not to mention the government's willingness to show the world how its vaguely-crafted legislation can be used purely to silence dissenting speech, Russian officials have painted quite a picture of the country's lack of a commitment to basic freedoms.

But where slapping around dissenting political speech is par for the authoritarian course, the laser focus the Russian government has on our LGBT brothers and sisters is confounding. That bigotry exists is not news, but Russia's dedication to it from a legislative perspective reeks of distraction-farming. And, as said previously, it can reach really silly levels, such as members of the Russian government calling on a ban of EA Sports' FIFA17 game, purely because the game includes the option to have players wear rainbow shoelaces, as their real-life counterparts did.

Communist MPs sent a letter to the communications oversight and state consumer protection agencies complaining that the popular EA Sports football game, which is rated all ages, “invites users to support the English football premier league’s Rainbow Laces action, a massive campaign in support of LGBT”, Izvestia newspaper reported.

United Russia MP Irina Rodnina, a former figure skater who won three Olympic gold medals for the Soviet Union, told Izvestia that the authorities needed to “verify the possibility of distributing this game on the territory of the Russian Federation”.

We should congratulate our Russian friends on being first to market on this kind of bigotry. After all, the game is also available in Saudi Arabia, a country not known for its liberal policies on homosexuality, yet Russia beat them to the punch. That's quite a feat for the homophobic.

But this is what you get with authoritarian regimes that play in the world of social policies. There are far worse applications of Russia's anti-gay law that one can reference, but there is value of spotlighting the otherwise hilarious absurdity of the federal government of a nuclear power campaigning against a video game over rainbow shoelaces. Anyone who might have thought that this law had important work to do within Russia cannot possibly still think that there isn't overreach.

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Filed Under: lgbt, propaganda, rainbow shoelaces, russia, video games
Companies: ea

31 Comments

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afn29129 (profile), 9 Dec 2016 @ 5:03pm

Mork and Mindy
Re-runs of Mork and Mindy would be banned as well because of his rainbow suspenders.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/ec/cc/72/eccc72fa152a832a14316361901ae929.jpg

http://cdn.ipetitions.com/user-images/petitions/world-rainbow-suspenders-day/qqaaGpVbQyqFuoj9mJBG_Ra inbow.jpg
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2016 @ 5:53pm

Sad to think that so many right wing conservatives across the world look at Russia and policies like this with admiration.
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That One Guy (profile), 9 Dec 2016 @ 6:29pm

"Lock the doors, board up the windows, the Fabulous Brigade is approaching!"
While I certainly don't want to diminish the suffering and other problems such a law and government stance results in, I can't help but find it funny picturing all these very serious politicians running in terror and quivering in fright from The Gays, to the point that digital shoelaces are enough to send them scrambling and threatening a country wide block of the game.
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Daydream, 9 Dec 2016 @ 6:38pm

"Non-traditional" sexual relationships?
Non-traditional by whose standards? Because I just googled homosexuality and gay sex has been around and accepted since Ancient Egyptian times.
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orbitalinsertion (profile), 9 Dec 2016 @ 6:49pm

such virile threats

I don't think you meant that, but it's pretty funny.

Coupled with the Russian governments worry that American streaming media might be a form of HAARP-style mind-control,

Seems as though you just want to paint something you don't like as a crackpot conspiracy theory...
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2016 @ 7:03pm

Ironic
The FIFA series known for its animation glitches that occasionally result in the athletes looking like depraved perverts on the soccer field faces trouble for shoelace color.
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Chryss (profile), 9 Dec 2016 @ 8:01pm

Reminds me of Limbaugh and his Teletubbiephobia.
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David, 10 Dec 2016 @ 1:13am

Re: "Non-traditional" sexual relationships?
Well, I don't know how much of a translation invention "non-traditional" is here. But traditions are formalizations of common activities. A sexual relationship is not a formalization. Marriage is (with institutionalisation being a strong form of formalization). A "traditional" sexual relationship would warrant a dress code and prescribed movements and maneuvers, like Square Dance. To better ensure a commonality in execution, it would warrant being a group activity, or at least performed under group supervision. Probably with prizes, like "most inspiring performance in missionary position".

Something like that. Traditions really have to be actively maintained or you'll get people screwing left and right without rhyme or reason which is a "tradition" on the level of a bar brawl.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Dec 2016 @ 2:26am

To be fair:
The russian regime is compromised by a large majority to Putins party. Some fringe parties on the left wing basically being bookburners and extremely repressive on social issues and right wingers asking for Russia to subdue the countries with rightful russian land and shoot muslims on sight. Both sides are completely insane but they are the only ones allowed to participate in elections.

All the "reasonable" opposition is getting repressed by several means and do not get a chance in the elections.

Putins party (United Russia) can thus act as adjudicators and as the voice of reason in all contexts, thus cementing their position in power.

This is some of the hillarity of the left wing. But it gives Russias government a negotiation chip against Trump...
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Dark Helmet (profile), 10 Dec 2016 @ 4:20am

Re:
"such virile threats
I don't think you meant that, but it's pretty funny."

I actually very specifically meant it. The word choice is the part of the post of which I'm most proud, actually....
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Dec 2016 @ 8:16am

Did any soccer players wear rainbow colored shoe laces?
Does EA strive to duplicate the real world soccer action people see on the telly?

wtf
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Darkhog, 10 Dec 2016 @ 9:37am

That's it.
In my 3D platformer I'm so putting up an easter egg that makes player character rainbow-colored on Putin's birthday with no way to turn it off.
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orbitalinsertion (profile), 10 Dec 2016 @ 12:26pm

Re: Re:
Then sir, I applaud this well-executed win.
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PRMan, 10 Dec 2016 @ 12:39pm

Re:
Yes. But it's not merely that. EA said, “invites users to support the English football premier league’s Rainbow Laces action, a massive campaign in support of LGBT”.

Agree or disagree, this violates the Russian law.
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Vladimir Putitin, 10 Dec 2016 @ 3:37pm

Special Edition
EA should release a special Russian edition without rainbow laces but with visits to the clinic for steroid injections and special blood tests.
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Roger Strong (profile), 10 Dec 2016 @ 4:13pm

Re: Mork and Mindy
Well then. I hope he doesn't a Google Image Search on [Putin Rainbow].
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2016 @ 3:00pm

Re: Special Edition
Er, I'd say the IOC owes Russia a big-league apology. In the '70s they used to inject athletes with hormones to give them an edge in the event of the opposite sex. Nearly all of them were disqualified for cheating. Now the IOC allows Bruce Jenner-identified mental patients to compete in the "gendered event" of their choice. They won't strip she/he/it/sh!t of "xyr" medal for competing in a "men's" track event if he now claims to be female, because objective science is now "bigotry" of some sort.

Well, sounds to me like the Rooskies were ahead of xeir time, if we're going by the standards of "the current year." Or we could, you know, get back to normalcy and only allow actual men and women to compete in their respective events, with the cross-dressers going for the glittery gold on RuPaul's Drag Race or at the Special Olympics. When they ask to use the bathroom, tell them to go to the fire hydrant in accordance with their "identity," since apparently anyone can sign up to be a sled dog at the Idiotarod.

But I digress, comrade.
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Lawrence D’Oliveiro, 11 Dec 2016 @ 7:54pm

Re: "Non-traditional" sexual relationships?
By “traditional”, I think they specifically mean “within the monotheistic era”. The fact that human history goes back a lot longer than that doesn’t count, because pagans.
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Andrew Pam (profile), 11 Dec 2016 @ 10:31pm

Re: Re: Special Edition
Oh look, an anonymous poster who thinks that "objective science" only includes two genders. Apparently they never got much past primary school science and have never heard of the various chromosomal, hormonal and other variations that exist. Or they refuse to believe in them, because it doesn't fit with their existing worldview. That's the opposite of science.
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Chryss (profile), 11 Dec 2016 @ 10:58pm

Re: Re: Re: Special Edition
Or they consider it a birth defect or mental illness that must be forcibly "cured." Probably agrees with Trump that climate change is a scam made up by the Chinese.
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Niall (profile), 12 Dec 2016 @ 6:05am

Re: "Non-traditional" sexual relationships?
I think it's largely "whatever the Orthodox Church wants it to be" as backed up by "whatever authoritarian and reactionary elites want it to be".

Unfortunately the religious 'vacuums' of the Communist Era seem to have lead to the Orthodox and Catholic Churches making up for lost time - and proudly marching back to the early last century with social attitudes.

Ban 'teh gheys'? Yes!
Spend millions on new churches? Yes!
Feed the poor or help the unfortunate? Get lost!
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Niall (profile), 12 Dec 2016 @ 6:06am

Re: Ironic
Going by the problems we are getting in the UK about historic paedophilia, I think it's the match officials we should be worrying about...
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Niall (profile), 12 Dec 2016 @ 6:11am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Special Edition
Because if it were a scam to hamstring other economies, why would the Chinese apply it to themselves when they can claim a 'developing' economy?

Government of Putin (GOP) logic fail #348463233623623492
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Ninja (profile), 12 Dec 2016 @ 6:18am

It seems to be a pattern nowadays. Staunch homophobic or moralist found engaging in acts he/she vehemently and violently condemns.

I won't be surprised if at some point Russian politicians involved come out of the closet in a shiny rainbow parade.

These kinds of people are the worst. They sorely need therapy.
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Ninja (profile), 12 Dec 2016 @ 6:19am

Re: Re:
I giggled at the term. With a rainbow emoji.
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crade (profile), 12 Dec 2016 @ 9:03am

Re: Re:
Section 45 Article 7:
"you break the law when I say you break the law"
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crade (profile), 12 Dec 2016 @ 9:31am

Re: Re: Special Edition
If you don't like the rules.. You can pretty much go make your own Olympics. You'll be missed.
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crade (profile), 12 Dec 2016 @ 9:43am

Re: Re: Special Edition
Also, in the 70s NHL players used to get called offside for passing over 2 lines.. Now players are allowed to pass over 2 lines.. The NHL owes all those players a big apology!
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Dec 2016 @ 1:43pm

Re: Re: Re:
It wasn't the shoelaces that will get the game banned it was the fact that EA was affiliated
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Wendy Cockcroft, 13 Dec 2016 @ 5:45am

Re:
True conservatism doesn't have a "wing," it's just a desire to maintain the status quo (or to return the status quo to a supposed golden age) and to promote traditional values (this is what they argue about: **which** traditional values?).

While true Communism was about creating a "voluntarian*" anarchic utopia in which the state and the need for money withered away in a sexually liberal society, what we actually got was a more pragmatic iteration in which state capitalism had to be invented (because, as it happens, we need capitalism) and traditional sexual morality was enforced due to the deeply patriarchal nature of Russian society.

In my native Ireland we have a saying, "Aithníonn ciaróg ciaróg eile," which means, "One beetle knows another beetle," i.e. it takes one to know one.

So what I'm saying is, we've never had true communism on a national scale because conservatives were having none of it. And since conservatives tend to respect authority they're often authoritarian. This is why the right wing and left wing ones will often appear to be on the same page; they've got a lot more in common than they're willing to admit to.

----------------------
*I know it's not a proper word, but you get the idea.
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Wendy Cockcroft, 13 Dec 2016 @ 5:48am

Re: Re: "Non-traditional" sexual relationships?
[Sad but True]
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