Rugby League looks to tackle homophobia

Greg Mulholland fighting homophobia in Rugby

The Rugby Football League (RFL) has launched its campaign to make its sport more “gay friendly”.  Part of this campaign is to make sure that homophobia has no place on or off the pitch.  This will cumulate in February with the Sheffield Eagles wearing a shirt with the slogan “Homophobia Tackle it!”

The event was hosted by Greg Mulholland MP, but was attended by a number of other MP’s.  It also has the support of openly gay rugby legend Gareth Thomas who commented:

“All sports have a significant role to play in challenging homophobia and I am delighted to show my support to Rugby League and the RFL which has made such strong commitments to taking important issues like this seriously and is leading the way in terms of inclusivity”

If this campaign, can create an environment where players and fans can enjoy the sport regardless of their sexuality then it has to be supported.  It appears however, that Rugby (both League and Union) are light years ahead of football in its efforts to tackle homophobia.  Maybe the FA could learn from the RFL’s example.