Jordan Kahu, a former star of the NRL and New Zealand rugby league, has added his voice to the controversy over the Manly Sea Eagles’ pride shirt by taking aim at those who back the seven players who are refusing to wear it.
The former fullback and winger for the North Queensland Cowboys and Brisbane Broncos, who also represented New Zealand internationally, addressed rugby supporters directly by stating that they “stand with” the players.
In a social media post, Kahu warned rugby league supporters that being inclusive is not something they can “choose and choose” to do.
You should be selective about when you stand. These people are not allowed to select who they are,’ he stated.
The seven Manly players who chose not to participate in the team’s important Thursday night match against the Sydney Roosters due to the rainbow stripes introduced to the Sea Eagles’ shirt for the match have come under fire from many.
Religious reasons prevented Jason Saab, Christian Tuipulotu, Josh Schuster, Haumole Olakau’atu, Josh Aloiai, Tolutau Koula, and Toafofoa Sipley from donning the club’s Pride shirt, which is a rainbow-colored garment supporting LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports.
On social media, several followers have expressed their support for the seven.
Kahu urged those fans to take into account how their posts would alienate their actual friends.
You “stand” alongside these athletes? They won’t even notice it and don’t even know who the f*** you are,’ he wrote.
But someone who is aware of your existence—someone who has been having trouble telling the truth to everyone—might notice it.
Why? because they are made to feel out of the ordinary.
“And what might they do then?” A quick Google search will reveal that there are nine-year-olds who have committed suicide due to this s***. F***ing nine! What if your child was this?
According to the post, the event involved a boy who killed himself in 2018 in the US state of Colorado after allegedly being bullied for coming out as gay.
Des Hasler, the coach of Manly, has apologised in front of the cameras this week for the jersey scandal to his boycotting players, LGBTQI individuals, and the other 15 NRL teams.
By Tuesday, the Manly scandal had reached international media, with the BBC and The Times in the UK, CNN, and the Washington Post in the US all covering the subject.