The NZ Breakers are copping plenty of backlash over their decision not to wear a pride jersey in the NBL this season. Photo / Photosport
A professor of sport management at the University of Otago is questioning how much sporting organisations educate athletes around sensitive issues after the fallout of the NZ Breakers’ decision not to wear the rainbow pride flag in next year’s NBL Pride Round.
The Auckland-based basketball club is facing public backlash after becoming the second club to opt out of the pride jersey since the round began in January 2023. The Cairns Taipans did the same during the inaugural round.
The Breakers said in a statement “some players raised religious and cultural concerns about wearing the insignia” and “to protect individual players from being singled out for their beliefs, the team collectively decided they would either all wear the insignia, or none would”.
Professor Sally Shaw believes it’s important to understand why individuals within the Breakers team did not want to support the movement and wear the pride logo. She said discussions and education about the matter should take place for those people.
She feels the responsibility for making that happen lies with sporting organisations because this is not the first time a team or individual athlete has faced scrutiny for not supporting the LGBTIQ+ community.
Shaw, who is openly gay, is undertaking the country’s first academic study into homophobia in sport and has been doing so for some years.
She said that until sporting organisations provide proper education and understanding for players, nothing will change and society won’t progress.
“We will keep on doing the same things we’ve done and feel good about ourselves for a week,” Shaw said. “It’s like a rainbow sugar rush, for a week or so and then we go back to business as usual and that’s not good enough.
“If sport really means it, then there needs to be more work done. And that is to help people who are hesitant or unsure, or think it clashes with their beliefs, to learn something different and maybe make a slightly more informed decision.
“Pride rounds have been around for ages now and they’re great. They show community engagement and they certainly signal inclusion.
“The bigger question around sport is what happens for the other weeks of the season?”
Under NBL rules, it is only a voluntary requirement for players and teams to wear the pride patch on their jersey.
The Breakers have previously worn a pride jersey, while players across the league have chosen not to wear the flag.
The decision drew criticism from the NRL’s first openly gay player, Ian Roberts, who told RNZ’s Morning Report the Breakers are “absolute cowards”.
But Shaw believes name-calling is not going to encourage anybody to have the discussions required to progress the matter.
“We’re not going to get anywhere by taking sides and calling each other names about this,” Shaw said.
“I get that response, that commentator’s anger. I totally get it. But at the same time, name-calling is not going to encourage anybody to come and have a reasonable conversation about anything.
“I don’t believe that professional sports teams and leagues necessarily do a very good job of understanding why they’re doing some of these social outreach, community engagement type things.
“If the players are not convinced by it, then maybe the leagues need to look at themselves and say, well, we need to do a better job of understanding why we’re doing this and explaining that to the athletes.”
Shaw said education is key as it helps people understand all kinds of diversity within sport.
Pride and sport have drawn plenty of headlines over the past decade, from Israel Folau’s comments, which led to him being sacked by Rugby Australia, to football captains not wearing rainbow armbands and the Manly Sea Eagles’ pride jersey debacle.
The Herald has asked the NBL what education is provided to players to give them a better understanding of sensitive topics.
2degrees, which is a major sponsor of the Breakers, didn’t want to comment on the club’s decision.
“2degrees is a long-standing supporter of Aotearoa’s Rainbow communities and is proud to hold the Rainbow Tick,” a spokesperson said.
“We actively back a range of LGBTQIA+ initiatives and events throughout the year. As a company, our commitment remains unchanged – we’ll continue to stand alongside and support our rainbow communities across Aotearoa.”
A BNZ spokesperson said the bank, which is another major sponsor, told the Herald it was a “big supporter of the NBL Pride Round and inclusion in sport for all people”.
“We have spoken with the BNZ Breakers, and while we don’t agree with the decision, they let us know the call on what the team will wear was made by the players themselves in line with the league’s voluntary participation policy.
“They’ve confirmed that pride will be visibly recognised at the game and in the stadium, with activations supporting the rainbow community, and we look forward to celebrating the NBL Pride Round with the wider basketball community.”
The Herald has reached out to other major sponsors, including Burger King for comment, but is yet to hear back.
The Pride Round this season will be held across the NBL and WNBL from January 21-February 1 to celebrate diversity and inclusion in basketball.
The Herald also contacted the Adelaide 36ers, who have the league’s only openly gay player, Isaac Humphries, on their roster and are scheduled to play the Breakers during the Pride Round. They didn’t want to comment because they have a match on Wednesday night.
The Breakers are back in action on Saturday when they face the Taipans in a bottom of the table clash.
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.