David Pocock alleges homophobic slurs made during Brumbies’ derby clash with Waratahs
Waratahs coach Michael Cheika responds to claims by David Pocock that homophobic slurs were made on two occasions during Sunday’s derby clash.
WALLABIES flanker David Pocock stressed homophobia is akin to racism and “not acceptable” in sport after twice reporting homophobic slurs by Waratahs players to the referee in NSW’s victory over the Brumbies.
The allegations made by Pocock overshadowed the Waratahs victory at Allianz Stadium and appear set to be the subject of a SANZAR investigation this week.
Waratahs coach Michael Cheika on Monday said he did not hear any homophobic comments, but would “man up” if proof was made available.
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Brumbies captain Stephen Moore and coach Stephen Larkham indicated the slurs were made towards an individual but both stressed they’d not heard them, or had a chance to fully investigate with their players.
In the final stages of a heated match between the two rivals, Pocock approached referee Craig Joubert in the 67th and 72nd minutes and expressed his concerns about homophobic slurs being made by Waratahs players.
Joubert said he hadn’t heard the alleged remarks, but relayed them to Waratahs captain Michael Hooper who said: “We’re not into that.”
Pocock later said to Joubert: “You heard that sir ... you can’t say that, there could be gay players out there.”
The incident is likely to be forwarded to SANZAR for further investigation under their code of conduct today.
Pocock, who is an outspoken advocate on marriage equality and social justice, said last night he wasn’t attempting to single out any Waratahs players but merely drawing a line in the sand.
“It is not a witch hunt,” Pocock said.
“It is not a matter of going after one particular guy, it is just saying “this isn’t something we want to see in our game”. We want to be inclusive for people watching and people playing. That’s what it comes down to.
“I didn’t hear anything. I just had a few players coming to me saying there were homophobic slurs being thrown out, and I guess it is something at the Brumbies we have said it is not acceptable and we are not going to tolerate this.
“We were just making the referee aware. I put it with racism and all sorts of other things that aren’t good enough.”
With Pocock as a key ambassador, the ARU last year created an Inclusion Policy specifically targeting homophobia in rugby.
“It is something that is going to change with education and the ARU has come out really strongly not tolerating homophobia, and having an inclusion policy, right from (CEO) Bill Pulver,” Pocock said.
Asked if he understood the comment to be directed at an individual, Pocock said: “I am not sure, and I guess that is beside the point in many ways. It is just disappointing hearing that language. It is just about education and making sure as players we are all the same page.”
Larkham said: “It is going to come out in the next couple of days. We are investigating it at the moment. We haven’t had a chance to chat to everyone about what happened out there, so we will investigate it further.”
The ARU said last night it would seek to gather more information and Waratahs coach Michael Cheika said he would refrain from commenting until the full facts were gathered.
“Before making any sweeping statements I’d rather work out what happened, if anything did happen, and go from there,” Cheika said.
“If there is an issue, it will come to light. When it comes to light, I will make my position clear. I know it is a big thing, speculation. I know it fills a newspaper. But I am about seeing what really happened and making a comment.”
Originally published as David Pocock alleges homophobic slurs made during Brumbies’ derby clash with Waratahs