Rugby league, from fans to its leaders, should be proud of its unity on same-sex marriage

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This was published 6 years ago

Rugby league, from fans to its leaders, should be proud of its unity on same-sex marriage

By Phil Lutton
Updated

Rugby league is nothing if not a contradiction. For all of the code's all-too-regular off-field issues, once again the game has seemed like a bastion of cultural acceptance as sport and politics continue their uneasy dalliance.

The moment a postal survey on same-sex marriage was confirmed, it was inevitable the nation's leading athletes and sporting organisations would be called to account. Those that still maintain sport and politics should keep to themselves remain ignorant of history; from the Nazi Olympics in Berlin to Civil Rights in American and Apartheid in South Africa, athletes and the bodies they represent have been front and centre.

Ian Roberts at a marriage equality rally in Sydney in August.

Ian Roberts at a marriage equality rally in Sydney in August.Credit: AAP

One by one, they made their position clear. Among the first was the NRL, whose chief executive Todd Greenberg brushed aside the politics of it all and on the urgings of those like Rabbitohs and Manly great Ian Roberts, said the game stood for the 'Yes' campaign.

"The game has a small number of values and one of those values is inclusiveness," Greenberg said. "It's an easy thing to write on the wall but it needs to be demonstrated in actions."

The logo at AFL house is changed to support the marriage equality campaign.

The logo at AFL house is changed to support the marriage equality campaign.Credit: Darrian Traynor

And that was that. Resistance was virtually nil and the code could play on into the finals with an important stake in history now on the board. Cricket Australia, the National Basketball League, Football Federation Australia and Swimming Australia also registered their public support without so much as a hitch, as did the Australian Rugby Union, although one of its biggest names, Israel Folau, was quick to take the opposing view.

It took the AFL a fortnight after the NRL to makes its stance and out of all the major national bodies, it has been the one forced to deal with a concerted blowback.

Conservative politicians and commentators quickly piled in, while clubs like Carlton releasing statements of their own saying they would sit on the fence and 'not tell people how to vote'. Others, like Essendon, have registered their support for 'Yes', feeling compelled to state their case amid the controversy.

A massive 'YES' logo outside of AFL headquarters was up, then down. On Thursday, the building was evacuated due to a bomb threat, although there was no confirmation as to the motives of whoever was on the other end of the phone.

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Let's not descend into the tiresome 'code wars', especially about an issue of such gravity, sensitivity and importance. But for all of the AFL's proclamations about its place as Australia's most-enlightened code, the reaction has been curious to say the least, given the stance of its major rivals barely made a ripple.

AFL has been here before, in a sense. The game was mired in controversy as Sydney Swans star Adam Goodes, a wonderful player and indigenous campaigner, was booed during games, supposedly for a tendency to play for free kicks.

The reality was far most distasteful than that and it opened up deeply troubling discussions about how the AFL, which counts indigenous players among some of its finest athletes, deals with race and culture.

Many in rugby league land failed to comprehend why someone like Goodes would be subject to that sort of treatment. Anyone going out of their way to routinely boo Johnathan Thurston, or Greg Inglis, in NRL grounds around the nation would struggle to make it out in one piece (aside from Origin, when there is but one colour that counts to rival supporter groups).

The AFL should be applauded for its stand in the face of a rebuke they perhaps wouldn't have expected, given how a public 'Yes' stance unfolded in other professional organisations. Gillon McLachlan has vowed to stand strong on a cause that has divided the game's clubs, fans and high-profile supporters.

Rugby league should take no pleasure in the fact that the AFL must negotiate a rockier path in supporting the right for same-sex Australians to lawfully commit to each other. But fans of a code that is often dragged through the gutter should be proud that inclusiveness is a value practiced as well as preached.

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