Manly Sea Eagles must 'unite club, players and supporters' after pride jersey player boycott
- Published
It is the first time a team in the NRL competition has worn a pride jersey
Manly Sea Eagles want to "unite club, players and supporters", says their chairman, after seven players boycotted a key NRL match over the team's decision to wear a pride jersey.
Some players objected to wearing the shirt against Sydney Roosters on religious and cultural grounds.
Both they and the club were criticised for their handling of the situation.
"I stand with the club's management and the inspiration for why we wanted to do this," chairman Scott Penn said.
The Sea Eagles were beaten 20-10 by Sydney on Thursday.
Penn said after the match that the seven players are prepared to wear the shirt, external from next season, as long as they are consulted in the process.
"I think they were somewhat frustrated that it went as far as it did without consultation, and we respect that," Penn told Nine News.
"We are all about inclusiveness, so we will continue this theme."
The seven players were named as Josh Aloiai, Jason Saab, Christian Tuipulotu, Josh Schuster, Haumole Olakau'atu, Tolutau Koula and Toafofoa Sipley.
They were reportedly told to stay away from the ground in New South Wales before the game.
"For the safety and wellbeing of the players, the club has decided that it's best that they don't attend the game," Manly interim chief executive Gary Wolman told The Australian newspaper.
A portion of the match proceeds were donated to "make a difference to the mental health of members of the LGBTQ+ community".
The club owners also donated A$100,000 (£57,000) to Gotcha4Life - an Australian not-for-profit foundation that aims to improve mental fitness in the country.
"While the intention of why we wanted to do this was authentic - and still is - we must learn from how the message was lost in translation through the process of implementation," Penn said.
"We have learned lessons from this and we hope others may learn lessons from this also, but we will make no apologies for why we were motivated to do it.
"But I accept that Manly Warringah Sea Eagles now has the job to unite its club, players, supporters and become the leader of inclusiveness that we whole-heartedly desire to be."
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