Fri 4 Jul 2014 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Nick Phipps with Jason Fowler of the Sydney Convicts and Donovan Baker of Macquarie University The Highlanders will be part of history in Sydney this weekend, when a gay rugby team plays a curtain raiser to their match with the Waratahs. The Sydney Convicts will take on Macquarie University at Allianz Stadium on Sunday afternoon, before the trans-Tasman Super 15 clash. It will be the first time a gay rugby team ever plays as part of a professional game. The Sydney Convicts are hosting the Bingham Cup, the gay equivalent of the Rugby World Cup, next month. Sunday’s curtain raiser match is part of wider efforts by both the Convicts and Australia’s professional sports to help end homophobia in Australia and around the world. Wallabies and Waratahs player Nick Phipps is a supporter of the Bingham Cup. “Sport is such a beautiful thing and in this day and age, there should be no discrimination at all,” he says. “After getting to know some of the boys who play for the Sydney Convicts, they’re really good fellas and we want to help them as much as we can. Hopefully the fans also get behind the boys and show their full support, to end discrimination in sport and raise awareness about the Convicts as a team and what they stand for.” Sydney Convicts President David Whitaker says the club is very excited and proud to be the first gay and inclusive rugby team to be invited to play as part of a professional sporting match. “Often discrimination and homophobia is based on stereotypes that gay people are somehow weak and they can’t play tough sports like rugby. We hope this game helps to challenge these misconceptions while also raising awareness that homophobia in sport is still a major issue and gay people often still feel unwelcome.” As part of the event on Sunday, Allianz Stadium will air a 30 second anti-homophobia TV advertisement during the Waratahs/Highlanders game featuring some of the most well-known athletes in world sport. The Waratahs will also run a feature article in the game programme and include a panel discussion on homophobia in sport as part of their pre-game show. Take part in a survey about homophobia in sport here
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 4th July 2014 - 11:09am