I am no footy or rugby fan I can tell you…BUT… forcing things on people do not get results. It puts their backs up. A better way would be to promote a lot more conversation and education.

It does not matter which grounds the players used for refusing …the fact remains…they weren't consulted and this should have been done. Now more players have joined them withdrawing from the game... totaling 17.

Forcing these players to make such a decision is wrong and putting the LGBT community in the spotlight like this is embarrassing and demeaning.

As an aside:  the NSW Treasurer should not get involved!!

I fear that people have missed the point of the football jumper fiasco. This weekend was designated "Women in League", nothing to do with gay pride and Manly pushed in unannounced and uninvited. As regards the players choosing to not wear the gay pride jumper, they have claimed that their religious beliefs are against wearing the jumper and people should respect their belief even if it is against their own beliefs. To bring in alcohol and gambling is ridiculous, these players are Christians, not Muslims and the Bible doesn't, in any book, verse or chapter, make comment forbidding alcohol or gambling unlike the Q'ran. To those of us who enjoy rugby league and attend games it must be said that at the end of almost every game, Polynesian players from both teams gather on the ground in the same huddle, kneel and say prayers. To me this, above all else, shows that they are committed to their religion, aren't "picking and choosing" and adds strength to their protest

All the Manly Club needed to say was "These are the jerseys that have been chosen with the rainbow pattern, but if you choose to wear the one without the rainbow pattern, then you are quite free to do so". End of arguement. 

Noticed that those screaming loudest about tolerance and inclusivity are the same ones showing the most intolerance and excluding those who don't toe the group-think line?

Not to mention this is yet another example of the concerted attempts to erase both women's sport and women in sport. After all, the woke elite would erase 'women' altogether.

It is very sad that those players won't embrace inclusivity.

But, they should have been consulted. I think that they should just not play and not be punished (other than perhaps losing payment for that match).

But they also need some training about how Jesus was inclusive and, based on what we read in the new testament, would be appalled by their behaviour.

Totally agree with Sue Ridge, well said. Professional footballers, it's a job, in reality it's not a sport, that's how they earn their living. In the workplace your employer has no right to tell you who or what you must accept or believe in, religious or otherwise. As in all employment, you work with people you wouldn't otherwise socialise with for whatever reason. That is your choice and your belief. Enough said, without getting into the turbulence of religion. And very quickly on another subject dealing with religious beliefs and tradition, I find it appalling that the, I believe, speaker of the House of Representatives/Parliament, wishes to have the Lord's Prayer removed from being said at the start of each session, due to her being an Atheist. This is a tradition that has been in Inception since the beginning of Parliament in Australia, I believe. I believe her problem is easily solved, if he doesn't like it get out, she's the atheist, possibly the only one there, if she feels that strongly go. (I'm sure she's not there just for the money, but to make a difference, Ho Ho. After all it's a job that she applied for, she wasn't dragged there and made to do it day in day out. Imagine what would happen if she gave those comments in India or an Islamic country. She would be stoned to death, due to their religious beliefs, however barbaric they may seem. Anyway, food for thought, have a nice day, Jacka 

Not going any further than personal choice of their cultural/spiritual belief. Aside, don't get me started on this Australia Day fiasco!

The club has made a mess of a well intentioned initiative.

I just can't understand why , as a temporary fix ,the players can't choose their jumper ,which looks almost the same  and the club can go back to the drawing board and work thru the issues.

Common sense gets lost in this changing world.

My initial reaction was to congratulate the "Rainbow Community" for a great marketing ploy - where other companies have to pay large amounts of money to get their logos on football jerseys, they got to advertise for nothing. Then I found out it was supposed to celebrate women in sport. What has that got to do with the Rainbow community? Now, through this controversy,  they have had added publicity. I think the world is much more tolerant these days but now that milestone has been reached, I think that perhaps they are trying to go one step further and convince the younger generation that they are the "norm". My teenage grand-daughters are certainly being influenced in this way via social media. The jerseys should not be worn, in my opinion.

At first I too thought the men should be able to choose since they would still be wearing the same colour as a team. On thinking about it more deeply though I have changed my mind. To have 7 out of 13 men refuse to wear it would be divisive in the team and hurtful for LGBTIQ+ people. The idea was good and meaningful but perhaps management should have checked it out with the players first before assuming there would be no prejudice. Sadly there is, in more than half the Manly team.

All religions are comprised of belief systems. Skin colour, race, gender, sexual orientation and the like are not - those things are part of who we are. I doubt there would have been objection to celebrating women or indigenous people or mixed race people but LGBTIQ+ still cop prejudice in our current society, thanks largely to many religions. The OT bible was not kind to women who were deemed to be impure and unclean while menstruating and were ordered to be submissive to men, and were told to stay away from men for 1 week after the birth of a male child and 2 weeks after the birth of a female child due to uncleanliness - but we have moved on from such nonsense. It is so sad that non acceptance of LGBTIQ+ folk continues unabated.

The gay community claim that their practices are a normal part of nature just like being straight. We don't celebrate 'straight' in any specific way so if being gay is so normal why do we need to make these special concessions?  I frankly resent the fact that beautiful natural symbols like the rainbow and the word gay have been hijacked by this community. Rainbows belong to us all.  So again, if gay is so normal whats this all about?

Homophobia, like racism, is extremely ugly. Religions that promote homophobia are not based on compassion and love.

Viking, I like your comment about normality and rainbows. Well written. 

The  only thing that should appear on jerseys are the SPONSORS logos because that is what largely pays the players their huge salaries.         Nothing of a religious, political, cultural  or other should appear and that includes gay pride.  

On the other hand players should keep their religious and cultural beliefs to themselves and not whinge about which sponsors appear on their jerseys..... eg:  the muslims complaining about an alcohol sponsor, its only a logo, they are not made to drink or buy alcohol so suck it up!! same goes for the islander players with their nutty christian ideas and antics.  

FFS   It's a football game, keep the crap out of it!