Anglican Archbishop Kanishka Raffel said Sydney had a pluralistic community that had seen rapid social change. “We’re still having a conversation and working out how we’re going to have a respectful difference,” he said.
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Many in the Pride community were frustrated by Manly’s lack of consultation with the players about the shirt, which replaced the traditional white stripe on the maroon background with rainbow colours, but gave support for their intentions.
Manager Des Hasler has apologized for the lack of consultation and communication with the players, saying he was concerned for the welfare of the men who chose to boycott the game.
Pride in Sport’s Andrew Purchas said Manly would be the first rugby league team to play in a pride shirt, although there was precedent in other codes. “It is a shame that the players have taken this approach [of boycotting the game],” he said.
“We respect the players’ right to have their own opinions. It’s quite a nuanced issue and it needs to be done thoroughly, [and] it must also be supported by a host of other activities.
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“Clearly [the furore] not great for those who are struggling with their sexuality. I would encourage them to look at the players wearing the shirt.”
In an opinion piece for the Herald, former Manly player Ian Roberts, the first gay rugby league player to be open about his sexuality, said he was angered by the players’ response. However, the only way forward was for each side to try to understand the other.
“We have to make people like these players understand that we are not a threat, that we are people like them,” he said.
Pacific Rugby Players Welfare chief executive Dan Leo said players should not be forced to support a position they disagree with. “The power of the rainbow flag has always been that it has been promoted by people who want to wear it, not forced to wear it,” he said.
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“If Manly said let’s promote Christianity without consulting the playing group, if everyone had to wear shirts that said ‘We love Jesus’, there would be an equal outcry. You can’t force this on people without proper consultation.”
Leo also hoped that the problem would not be seen as just one of the Pacific Islands. “There are a lot of people who identify as Christians in this country.”
Jioji Ravulo, Australia’s first Pasifika Professor of Social Sciences at the University of Sydney, has been working with the NRL for more than 10 years. He said sexuality among many Pacific communities was fluid before the missionaries arrived.
“I also believe that Pasifika people need to be proud of our pre-colonial views of queerness and claim these views as part of our ability to love our neighbor as ourselves.”
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