Dana Johannsen: Pocock makes toughest stand of all

David Pocock's actions at the weekend in calling out a Waratahs player were remarkably brave. Photo / Getty Images

Star flanker’s criticism of homophobic slurs during game makes bigger statement than any campaign rhetoric.

We're led to believe it takes courage for sports stars to take a stand. It doesn't always.

It's easy enough to take a stand on an issue in principle. Racism? Unacceptable. Homophobic slurs? Of course we won't tolerate it.

But when confronted with the situation in real life it is a lot more difficult to speak out.

We've seen it with domestic violence campaigns. Sports stars and presenters are happy to front campaigns reminding us "It's not OK" or slap a white ribbon on their chest at the appropriate time of year. But when one of their own is a perpetrator of domestic violence, they lose their voice - or worse yet, find a way to minimise the actions of their teammate or colleague.

Which is why Brumbies flanker David Pocock's actions at the weekend in calling out a Waratahs player for allegedly branding a player a "faggot" in a spiteful Super Rugby clash were remarkably brave. Pocock, a passionate social justice campaigner, has long been a vocal supporter of gay rights. But his words would mean nothing if his actions did not back it up.

So when homophobic slurs allegedly began flying about at scrum time in Sunday's clash between the Waratahs and Brumbies, the courage of his convictions was put to the test.

The loose forward took a stand and informed referee Craig Joubert in the 67th minute. Joubert said he did not hear the remarks but asked Waratahs on-field captain Michael Hooper to have a word to his forwards.

"I'm getting some pretty aggressive comments coming from your guys - that there are homophobic slurs [being made]," Joubert said.

Hooper replied: "We're not into that."

But that did little to satisfy Pocock, who made his concerns known again in the 72nd minute. "You heard that, sir ... you can't say that; there could be gay players out there."

Pocock later said he did not want the incident to become a witch hunt, but expressed his disappointment that it occurred.

"As players, we've said the Brumbies aren't going to tolerate any homophobic slurs. I just made that clear to the referee that it's unacceptable. You can be the toughest man in the world, but it's got nothing to do with using that sort of language," Pocock said.

In stopping and calling out the player in a game of Super Rugby, on live television, Pocock sent out a stronger message that such language and attitudes are no longer tolerated in sport than any well-meaning campaign ever could.

It's sad then that Pocock's actions have not been universally applauded. He's been accused of "grandstanding" and being a "whinger".

There are bound to be a few bar-room tough guys out there who think he's being bit of a poof. And if there were more genuinely tough guys like Pocock out there, their mates would be calling them out on that too.