Half of Australian rugby team refuses to play in "pride" version of kit featuring rainbow stripe

[beschizza]

Originally published at: Half of Australian rugby team refuses to play in "pride" version of kit featuring rainbow stripe | Boing Boing

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[gracchus]

At first I thought the coach was apologising for the bigotry of the players, when in fact he was apologising to them. Silly me.

[euansmith]

What would Jesus do?

[ToMajorTom]

That design does not look anything like a pride flag. It looks like a Photoshop color spectrum slider. To be rough & tumble rugby players, they sure seem to be very, um, sensitive.

[timd]

fwiw this is not the national team but the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles club

[moop2000]

Wow, if British football hooligans are more open and understanding than you are, you are definitely in the wrong!

[the_borderer]

@moop2000

if British football hooligans are more open and understanding than you are

They aren’t, but British football fans can be.

It’s easy to tell the difference, a football fan won’t smash a pint glass in your face.

[DreamboatSkanky]

They [the players] are not wearing the jersey as it conflicts with their cultural and religious beliefs,

What exactly are those “cultural beliefs”? May be if you said what they are, you might foster understanding and sympathy for them Or maybe you’d just expose how ugly and outdated their bigotry is.

We’ll give them space and the support they require.

WTF kind of support do they require?

[Abraham_Limpo]

@DreamboatSkanky

WTF kind of support do they require?

Fragile masculinity tends to require lots of coddling and ample space so they can beat their chests without being threatened by the scary “progressive agenda”

[the_borderer]

@beschizza

The team bosses made the classic mistake of thinking that Australia was Britain.

Non-league and womens teams have gone further than just rainbow laces.

Altrincham's Rainbow Shirts: Tackling Homophobia In Football

WOMENS HIGHLIGHTS: Dulwich Hamlet WFC v TRUK United Fundraising Match | 31/03/22

Stonewall F.C.

[GilbertWham]

I wonder how much support they’d get for refusing to wear a shirt with, say, an evil bank, or a petrochemical company sponsor’s logo on there on moral grounds.

[timd]

@DreamboatSkanky

What exactly are those “cultural beliefs”?

I would guess that several of those players are from Pacific islands where homosexuality is still illegal and reinforced by fundamental Christianity from missionaries.

[the_borderer]

@GilbertWham

I wonder how much support they’d get for refusing to wear a shirt with, say, an evil bank, or a petrochemical company sponsor’s logo on there on moral grounds.

I think there were a few Newcastle United players who refused to play with Wonga logos on the shirt. That was ten years ago under Mike Ashley though, and the club is currently majority owned by Saudi Arabia, so who knows what will happen now.

[VeronicaConnor]

@DreamboatSkanky

We’ll give them space and the support they require.

WTF kind of support do they require?

Exactly. We need to stop whitewashing hate and fear as a “belief system”. If you are defined by how much you hate and fear other people, we should not coddle you. You’re paid to play, so put your big boy shorts on and fucking play.

[Mister44]

Ironic that bigots get all offended and no one calls them whiny crybabies and instead apologizes to them.

[anothernewbbaccount]

"These young men are strong in their beliefs and convictions bigotry.

[David_Guilbeaul]

.
I hope he might object to the promotion of gambling interests

[euansmith]

Maybe something to tackle the limp-dicks’ erectile dysfunction?

[mallyboon]

@beschizza

They [the players] are not wearing the jersey as it conflicts with their cultural and religious beliefs,

Just gonna point out that their main corporate sponsor is PointsBet. Say what you will about homosexuality, Christianity is pretty unanimous in its opposition to gambling. I wonder how the players square this with their “cultural and religious beliefs?”

[Janine_Randall]

Seven little b*tches.