Richard Tankersley Human Rights Commissioner Richard Tankersley is urging all New Zealand’s sporting codes to consign homophobia and discrimination to our sporting history. "Gay athletes have to face other powerful opponents: homophobia and discrimination," Tankersley says. "When a rugby player scores a try or a runner crosses the finish line first: it's their athletic excellence that counts not whether they're gay or straight." His comments come in the wake of the early results of the Australian-led Out on the Fields study, which reveal the discrimination, abuse and exclusion faced by gay athletes. A former Christchurch man has been among those who have hit the headlines, with his story of being kicked out of his rugby club after his team found out he was gay. New Zealanders are still being urged to have their say in the Out on the Fields study, which can be filled out here
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 18th July 2014 - 10:16am