Players will boycott this initiative as it is against their cultural and religious beliefs
The team’s coach admitted that he did not consult the players about the use of the shirt, leaving the participation of these seven athletes in suspense.
Seven rugby players in Australia will boycott for religious and personal reasons over their team’s decision to wear rainbow-colored shirts to a match to mark LGBTI pride, their coach said on Tuesday.
The Manly Sea Eagles team jersey, presented the day before, has colors that identify the LGBTI community around the ad on the sleeves and on the torso; And this Thursday the Sydney roster will be used during matches against both Sydney teams.
“(They) will not wear the jersey because it goes against their cultural and religious beliefs,” their coach said, des hustlerAt a press conference, when assured that the rest of the players would wear the announced apparel.
The coach admitted that he did not consult the players about the use of the shirt, leaving the participation of these seven athletes in suspense.
“The T-shirt is intended to support advocacy and human rights related to gender, race, culture, ability and LGBTI movements. Unfortunately, what was intended to be an extremely important initiative (…) was poorly executed” Public Expressed apologizing eloquently.
A boycott on which even the Prime Minister has spoken, Anthony Albanesewho recalled the importance of respecting “everyone for who they are” and “sports more inclusive” in statements collected by public network ABC.
Albanese He also praised his friend and former Eagles player, Ian RobertsJoe became the first elite rugby league player to come out as gay in 1995.
roberts He was not the first gay player, but “he was the first to have the courage to come out of the closet and it paved the way for others to do so,” the president insisted.
“Everything is the same love,” the Sports Minister announced on Twitter, Anika WellsReferring to the topic.
Public broadcaster SBS says stocks of the Sydney team’s rainbow-colored jersey sold out via the website in less than 24 hours.
