CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
The first professional sporting code in Australia to field an openly gay athlete, as well as the first Indigenous representative side, while also having a devout Muslim as the highest point scorer for two decades – is this week under fire from the Australian media for making too much of an effort towards being inclusive.
This follows the unveiling of the ‘controversial’ new NRL promo video on Monday night that featured a fairly accurate insight into the demographics of the game.
Namely, the fact that over 60% of the code is Aboriginal or Islander.
The television advertisement, which celebrates a 30-year anniversary of the campaign originally launched by Tina Turner has drawn criticism from some members of the media as well as bogans who couldn’t name three players on social media.
The five-second inclusion of an Aboriginal flag also appeared to hit a nerve for Australian media commentators, with many claiming it was divisive and not fair to the 35% of NRL players who are white people from Australia.
“Wheres the Austrlian (sic) flag” wrote one dirtbike on social media.
“Typical NRL, always bowing to the [40% of Aboriginal people that make up our Origin sides]” wrote another HSV clubsport.
Prominent blue-blood conservative commentator and possible perverted serial killer, Sky News host Rowan Dean, took issue with a shot of the Aboriginal flag – and told his 900 viewers that he thought acknowledging the most talented and over-represented Australian demographic to play the game was “ridiculous”.
NRL 360 host and one-match-for-Parramatta-sensation Paul Kent slammed the campaign as a “box-ticking exercise” and straying away from the rusted-on, nuts-and-bolts league supporting fan base – who must not be aware that over 70% of the NRL are either Aboriginal, Polynesian, Lebanese or British.
