New Zealanders are ready for an openly gay All Black according to New Zealand rugby chief executive Steve Tew. Steve Tew Speaking to Newshub, Tew said “our job is to nurture a team culture and environment where everybody can come in and be the best possible athlete and person they can be.” He was asked whether he thought New Zealanders and All Blacks fan were ready for an openly gay All Black and responded saying "Are we ready for a gay All Black? I absolutely think we are, but there has to be one." Tew made reference to the “great level of sexual diversity” in the New Zealand black Ferns and women’s sevens team. "No one has yet said they're an All Black and gay, one day that will happen and I would hope that New Zealand is more than ready, in fact is welcoming of it,” he said. Yesterday, the top New Zealand sports bodies, lead by New Zealand Rugby announced they are working together to promote inclusion and diversity in sport and tackle issues such as homophobia. Craig Watson of LGBTI sporting festival Proud to Play responded to the announcement saying that sport in New Zealand has typically held a masculine image. “Rugby being at the root of this, is a national symbol of ‘manhood’ in New Zealand. “This is the reason why woman have struggled in sport and why gay men and woman have also been the targets of homophobia. “Because rugby and other contact sports like this, are so intimate - as teams need to get close and touch one another on the field as well as shower together – this has meant that often this culture could be seen as homoerotic and to expel that stereotype, the men have just homophobia to push that idea out of people mind-sets. Therefore, homophobia has become an accepted part of these masculine sports.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 1st June 2016 - 10:06am