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August 01, 2022
Pacific values at odds with Manly seven
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira
Posted On August 1, 2022
Download AudioA leading sports commentator believes Manly players who refused to wear a rainbow-themed jersey are out of step with the majority of Pasifika communities.
Manly lost the match without the seven first-line layers, who cited religious and cultural reasons for refusing to wear the strip issued by the team as a show of support for diversity and inclusion.
Ken Laban says while people should be free to voice their opposition, the Pasifika community has moved on from bigotry.
“I come from a family strongly in favour of LGBTQ+ and supports the rainbow. Our family has been part of the rainbow community before it was even called the rainbow community as are a number of whanau that are listening in, in fact, I would almost say the majority of whanau listening in would oppose the stand those seven players took,” Mr Laban says.
Mr Laban says rugby clubs may tweak player contracts in future to avoid more incidents.
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