Australia’s National Rugby League joins the call for marriage equality
By Micah Sulit
The Australian National Rugby League is the latest addition to a long list of organisations pushing for gay marriage Down Under.
“One of the NRL’s core values is inclusiveness and we have put in place practices and policies to support and recognise the rights of our LGBTI community,” NRL Chief Operating Officer Suzanne Young said in a statement. “Accordingly, the NRL supports marriage equality.”
Gay marriage is currently a hot topic in Australia, where a cross-party marriage equality bill is set to go before Parliament in August.
Following positive developments in Ireland and the US, there is mounting pressure on Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who has repeatedly been labelled the ‘roadblock’ to equal marriage.
In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, 23-year-old NRL star Tom Burgess praised the league’s support of same-sex marriage.
“It’s ignorant and old-fashioned [to think] if you’re male you can only love a female,” Burgess told the paper. “Nowadays, anyone can love anyone. And people just need to get over it.”