The Manly Sea Eagles marketing team’s decision to hijack the NRL Women in League’s Round and force all its players to wear Pride jerseys in Thursday’s clash with the Roosters is an example of “woke, corporate over-reach” that should be called out, Katter’s Australian Party Leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter has said.

Mr Katter said sport was not a space that needed to be hijacked by politics, irrespective of the cause.

He said it was presumptuous for the Manly Sea Eagles to enforce blanket, and potentially controversial, rulings on its team without consultation.

It also negated any respect owed to the cultural and religious backgrounds of players, he said.

“This is entirely unnecessary, and needs to be called out,” Mr Katter said.

“The public is sick and tired of having progressive causes shoved down their throats for the sake it, and I also think the players who do have religious views that make this a difficult space for them have been put in a very unfair spot.

“This decision around the jerseys is all about shameless, corporate self-promotion and about denigrating people who do not comply with certain views. 

“We are seeing every element of our society hijacked by ideological progressives who preach respect and inclusivity, but only for those who comply with their narrative.

“Those who do not, or even those who prefer to stay out of this and similar debates, are thrown to the wolves.

“This is deeply regressive and illiberal.

“Wokeism needs to stay out of sport.”

Mr Katter said he appreciated ex-player Paul Gallen’s comments last night when he questioned the motivations behind the jersey decision and rightly identified that this NRL round was meant to be about women in the game.

“How about we just concentrate on playing rugby league, and leave the politics out of it?” Mr Katter said.

20220726 – RK media release – Keep woke grandstanding out of sport Katter