Welsh rugby will make a stand against homophobia at tomorrow morning’s test against the All Blacks. The national team and Welsh Rugby Union have joined lgbti rights group Stonewall's NoBystanders campaign against abuse and bullying. It follows the homophobic abuse openly-gay Welsh referee Nigel Owens copped at the test between the All Blacks and England at Twickenham. The more than 70,000 fans at the sell-out game at Millennium Stadium will be asked to join the NoBystanders campaign too, and will be shown a video featuring the voice of Sir Ian McKellen. Stonewall spokesman Andrew White says the support of the Wales squad in calling out bullying language sends a message to thousands of supporters that we all have a part to play in stopping bullying. “It’s time we all speak up and stop being bystanders to abuse,” he adds. Nigel Owens has also expressed his support, saying he’s pleased to see the reaction of the rugby community against homophobic and other harmful language. “I believe we all have to call out this language for the damage that it does,” he says. “Recently comments were thrown at me as I was simply doing my job. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t affect me - you get disappointed and down, it gets to you. We are only human and when people say horrible things about you, it gets in your mind. “It’s a situation that too many people face in their own workplaces, schools and community. I won’t be a bystander to abuse and I hope that fans of the game will really get behind this campaign.” The Welsh Rugby Union’s Chief Executive Roger Lewis says they are proud of the traditional values of rugby – “of friendly camaraderie between players and supporters and also of respect towards players, fans and match officials. It is important we work hard to retain those values as they are genuine qualities of our national game and enable our sport to stand out from the crowd.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 22nd November 2014 - 10:37am