Lesbian Soccer Player Murdered in South Africa

An openly lesbian member of South Africa’s national women’s soccer team was murdered in Kwatema, east of Johannesburg, in late April. Reports said Eudy Simelane, 31, was raped and stabbed by a gang of youths as she and friends returned home from a tavern. Five suspects were later taken into custody.

A spokeswoman for People Opposed to Women Abuse, Carrie Shelver, told the South African Broadcasting Corporation that the killing likely was “a homophobic hate crime” given that Simelane’s lesbianism was well-known.

Simelane was a midfielder for the national team, which is known as Banyana Banyana.

News from San Francisco Bay Times.