NRL player Adam Doueihi has been questioned by his team over a now-deleted social media post. (Getty Images)
Australian NRL player Adam Doueihi has been issued a “please-explain” by his team after calling a pro-LGBTQ+ social media post “embarrassing.”
Doueihi, a five-eighth for Wests Tigers rugby team based in Sydney, Australia, came under fire when he reacted to a social media post by the English Premier League explaining to fans how to “speak about LGBTQ+ inclusion.”
In the comment section, Doueihi, 25, had reportedly written “embarrassing post” in a now-deleted comment.
The post lists several ways for fans and players to be good allies and begin healthy conversations about LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports.
For example, it suggests using phrases like: “We’ve come so far! How can we make sure we keep it up?” and “It’s so great to see how many athletes feel able to be themselves” rather than phrases like “Rainbow Laces don’t matter, we’ve already come so far”, or “Sport is about performance, we shouldn’t care about identity.”
The post was made as part of Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign which promotes LGBTQ+ support and inclusion in sport by encouraging players to wear rainbow-coloured laces.
Before he deleted the comment, ESPN reports that it had earned over 9,000 likes.
Although no formal investigation was launched, the comment prompted Doueihi’s team, Wests Tigers, to issue a “please-explain”.
Australian Associated Press reports that Doueihi has insisted that he didn’t intend for his comment to offend the LGBTQ+ community, and deleted the comment once he realised it could come across as homophobic.
Rather, the NRL player explained that he believed the Premier League telling people how to speak about the LGBTQ+ community was what he found “embarrassing”.
A representative for The Tigers assured AAP that they are an inclusive club that would be a safe space for both fans and players.
This is not the first time that the NRL player has been vocal about LGBTQ+ matters.
Back in October, Doueihi publicly supported a Catholic girls’ school’s decision to ban students from bringing a same-sex partner to their year 12 formal.
The athlete, who is a devout Catholic had told Sydney radio station 2GB that, while he didn’t want to “throw hate towards anyone”, he was fed up with his religion “being mocked so badly in society” and with people choosing to “stay quiet and not speak up and defend Catholics.
St Ursula’s College, in the Kingsgrove suburb of Sydney, was heavily criticised in the media after reportedly telling parents that students are only allowed to bring a date from the opposite sex to the dance.
“When a Catholic school – yes, a Catholic school – wants to teach the Catholic teachings and act in a Catholic manner towards situations, this seems to be a big issue for the minority of people to understand,” Doueihi had told the radio station at the time.
“What’s happened to morals, what’s happened to values, what’s happened to respecting people’s religions and what they stand for?
“We as Christians don’t have anything against different types of people. All we say is keep us out of it. Stop trying to brainwash our children and cause confusion for the next generation of Catholics.”