Olympic athletes to meet on gay marriage position
THE nation’s elite athletes will meet today to discuss the Australian Olympic Committee’s position on the gay marriage vote as the furious fallout over sporting codes’ involvement in politics continues to intensify.
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AUSTRALIA’S two biggest cultural pursuits — politics and sport — are embroiled in a bruising head-to-head brawl at a time traditionally reserved for thousands of fans to savour the two main footballing codes’ finals.
With avid enthusiasts across four states getting set for their teams to do battle, the country’s two biggest sporting codes are instead wearing the fallout of their clumsy involvement in the same-sex marriage plebiscite still facing ordinary Australians.
A day after the AFL was forced to take down a Sherrin-shaped “Yes” sign from the front of its Melbourne headquarters following a bomb threat, NRL Footy Show presenter Erin Molan highlighted the dangers of major sporting organisations overstepping their normal boundaries.
Molan came out “proudly” on her social media page in favour of the “Yes” vote, but has expressed grave concerns about entire sporting codes following suit.
“My reluctance is that sporting codes represent thousands of people and I am very against any of them feeling cut off as a result of that code coming out in favour,” she said.
“What about the people who work within the AFL who don’t believe in same-sex marriage, who now feel alienated and not part of their sporting code?
“I just think sport is somewhere we can go and not have to worry about taking political sides.”
AFL club Carlton has also broken with the code’s chief body by refusing to endorse the “Yes” campaign out of respect for “personal choice”.
The NRL also quietly revealed its backing for the “Yes” campaign almost two weeks ago in response to a plea from former Manly enforcer and the code’s first openly gay player, Ian Roberts.
But it’s not just footballers who have taken their sports into areas of debate.
The nation’s elite athletes will also meet today to discuss the Australian Olympic Committee’s position on the gay marriage vote.
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Today’s meeting of Olympic athletes comes after AOC chief executive Matt Carroll’s announcement last week that the organisation was not following the NRL, AFL, Australian Rugby Union and Cricket Australia in backing the “Yes” vote.
“I’m just saying there are two sides to this discussion and I’m respecting both sides of this discussion,” he said.
“People’s religious views are important and they should be respected.”
The Daily Telegraph has learned that Mr Caroll made the decision to not back the campaign for the “Yes” vote without consulting the AOC board or the AOC Athletes’ Commission.
The move has angered some members, who have pushed the issue to the top of the agenda at the Athletes Commission meeting today.
Olympic champion diver Matt Mitcham, the first openly gay athlete to compete at the Olympics, understands the AOC’s neutral position.
“I know that the AOC isn’t anti-gay because they have supported the One Team in the Mardi Gras parade before and me,” he said.
“I understand they want to sit out of this debate, it’s not that they are supporting either side. I understand them not having an opinion because part of the AOC function is to raise money to send athletes to the Olympics, and if they pick a side a whole demographic of donors might be lost.”
Political and sports marketing expert Dr Andrew Hughes backed Mr Carroll’s stance, warning that other sports had made the mistake of jumping into an essentially political issue without considering the ramifications.
He argued that the issue of same-sex marriage was vastly different from stances on social issues such as the NRL’s campaign against domestic violence, given that with the latter everyone could agree that brutality within family homes needed to be stopped.
“In this case it is a political issue with a vote,” he said.
“They need to be a little more careful because it is an individual vote and there will be some people who will vote no,” he added.
Wallabies star Israel Folau was on the receiving end of a social media backlash after he tweeted: “I love and respect all people for who they are and their opinions. But personally, I will not support gay marriage.”
The Australian Rugby Union changed its social media logo to a rainbow-coloured Wallaby in support of the “Yes” campaign.
Folau’s view was at odds with his captain Michael Hooper and teammate David Pocock, who both came out in favour of a “Yes” vote.
But Dr Hughes, from the Australian National University, said: “Where was the ARU’s support of Israel Folau and his right to express an opinion that was different from others in society?
“When sporting codes get involved in politics it seems they are trying to impose their will on people.
“Then you have to ask where you draw the line? Who makes the decision what a sport is involved in and when they are not?”
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