You have definitely posted in a non-offensive way VFTH and I apppreciate your thoughts. However, the fact the players haven't forced their attitudes on you or me personally doesn't mean their attitudes aren't having a direct negative impact on others in their own communities, even on themselves, certainly the wider community who respect them as sporting heroes.
You've put some context to the beliefs of those players, but let's also remember the history of the game itself. A tough, violent working class game for males, and unsurprisingly a bastion of unsophisticated sexism. Females relegated to peripheral supporting roles, and gays definitely persona non grata. Over the last 20 years some significant changes for women. A female journalist had to go to the Human Rights Commission to be allowed post-match access to players that male journos had. Now there's even females on TV footy panel shows (never seen on Controversy Corner), even some female execs at NRL clubs. And Women in league round. Also now the NRLW. And NRL bosses (but only in last couple of years) finally announcing publicly enough is enough with player disrespect and violence toward women.
But there haven't even been those steps in regard to gay or bi men who actually play the game. Or maybe who don't play, but have to interact with people who play the game. Not a single NRL player has come out since Ian Roberts! Can anyone seriously suggest gays or bisexuals feel safe in this enviroment to be open about who they are? No surprise. Are the days of gay bashing and gay murdering even behind us? Or do gays still occasionally get pushed off cliffs at night by gangs of drunken youths? Who hate gays.
Sorry for a lengthy post - but here's an excerpt from a 2022 report about homosexuality in 5 Pacific nations. Homosexuality is illegal in Cook Islands, Kiribati, Soloman Islands, Tonga and Samoa. The report's quite short and worth a look
In Samoa, despite revisions of its penal code as recently as 2013, the Government in 2010 had rejected a recommendation from the Samoa Law Commission to abolish sodomy laws, arguing this was unacceptable in a Christian country. Notwithstanding, those reforms did include the decriminalisation of female impersonation, affirming the rights of the Samoan fa’afafine community (who identify themselves as third gender/non-binary).
In these largely socially conservative societies with strong Christian ethos, being openly LGBT+ can be dangerous.
In addition to legal discrimination, social discrimination against LGBT+ people continues, in some cases violently. For example, in 2021 in Tonga a prominent human rights activist and president of Tonga Leitis Association, an organisation working for LGBTQ+ communities, was allegedly murdered.
We have all been excited to see our young players coming into NRL to help Manly with their prodigious talents. But we cannot go backwards with inclusivity just to win games. It is important for these players to learn the values we want them to have - and for the club and NRL to be patient in this teaching and learning process. If that is simply too difficult for some players, due to their family or community situation, that's sad but not as bad as allowing discrimination, exclusion or worse to grow, and turn a blind eye because 'it's religion' (but really it's because they are good players)
Edit - I think our 7 players are all really decent young men,not at all suggesting they go around harassing gays etc. But the point is, their beliefs and attitudes are the beliefs and attitudes that do harm to LGBTI+ people. And Ian Roberts is also a really decent man, sexuality should have nothing to do with that.
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