Former Manly Sea Eagles star Ian Roberts shares concern of ‘knock-on effects’ following pride jersey saga

Former Manly Sea Eagles Player Ian Roberts has flagged concerns about the “knock-on effects” of the pride jersey saga, which has led to seven players stepping down from Thursday night’s clash against the Sydney Roosters.

The NRL club this week announced its players would don a rainbow-detailed jersey for the Round 20 match to “celebrate inclusiveness”. 

But Jason Saab, Josh Aloiai, Christian Tuipulotu, Josh Schuster, Haumole Olakau’atu, Tolutau Koula and Toafofoa Sipley decided to opt out of the game because the “Everyone in League” jersey went against their religious and cultural beliefs.

Roberts, rugby league’s first openly gay man, told Sky News First Edition on Wednesday he respected their decision not to play but hit out over what the choice represented.

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“I respect their decision not to play if they choose not to play, but I don’t respect their decision they’re not playing because of the pride round,” he told host Peter Stefanovic.

“The idea of having a pride round is to celebrate, make people feel welcome from the whole LGBTQ+ community.”

As it stands, there is no pride round in the NRL and Round 20 is about recognising women in the league. 

Roberts went on to say the pride jersey saga might be detrimental to those dealing with sexual identity issues.

“In all the NRL contracts, there’s an inclusion and diversity policy,” he told Stefanovic. 

“I think what people are forgetting here is the knock-on and consequences of this action.

“We’re now talking about young kids who might be dealing with sexuality or sexual identity issues and a lot for those kids will be feeling a little bit less today because of all this hoo-ha about a pride sport.

“Let’s understand what this pride round is about, it’s about welcoming people.”

Coach Des Hasler on Tuesday revealed he accepted the decision of the seven players before pointing the finger to “poor management” for failing to consult the players about the uniform.

“The jersey intent was to support the advocacy and human rights pertaining to gender, race, culture, ability and LGBTQ rights,” he said in a press conference alongside team captain Daly Cherry-Evans.

“Sadly, the execution of what was intended to be an extremely important and initiative was poor. There was little consultation or collaboration with key stakeholders both inside and outside the club.

“Sadly, this poor management and project management has caused significant confusion, discomfort and pain for many people.”