Wed 19 Jun 2013 In: Our Communities View at Wayback View at NDHA
Could you imagine the outcry if one of our All Blacks just lay down on the field and pretended the other team wasn’t there, refusing to tackle, pass, run, kick, or even acknowledge a game was on? In this vein the NZRU and the All Blacks need to end their ultimate Hollywood act of pretending homophobic issues just don’t exist in sport. Their sport. It’s time for our most dominant and iconic national sports team to front up. "We do not condone the use of any language which people may find offensive,” was the frail response from the All Blacks management, to first-choice fullback Israel Dagg’s tweet calling another player a ‘fag’. It's no more focused on the real issue at stake than their frail response to Hannah Spyksma’s experience of being abused by Eden Park spectators who were shouting anti-gay epithets at players. Why can’t the NZRU even say the word gay, or homosexual, when on the other hand a senior player can so loosely throw out such an insulting homophobic word to other players? We’ve put a request in to have a proper sit-down straight-up interview with someone from the union, to discuss the homophobia that has now been proven to permeate New Zealand’s rugby culture at all levels. It’s not just about Dagg’s ‘fag’ tweet. That’s just given every homophobic halfwit licence to throw the word around some more. Homophobia and bigotry in the sport (and others to be fair) is everywhere, from talkback callers calling rugby the ‘last bastion of masculinity’ when the marriage equality Bill passed, to the All Blacks’ captain’s freak out at a pink jersey and of course moronic fans shouting ‘faggot’ and ‘homo’ at every player who annoys them. Isn’t it time for a high noon in rugby? For the sport to cast off the Neanderthal shackles of yesteryear and just grow up? Can’t we finally draw a line on the field and move on from the days of Ces Blazey and his kind of homo-hating, short back and sides rugby administrators? Front up rugby, and speak up. Be real men. Lead the way. Let’s start a discussion how we can ensure every gay kid dreaming of being an All Black one day can keep holding on to that dream without having to face hate at every corner. GayNZ.com - 19th June 2013