It wasn't the nicest comment but seriously people need to harden up. I'm positive a lot worse is said on a footy field than "you're a FGC." It's funny how no one had a problem with everyone at Leichardt screaming "Birdy's a wanker" yet they get up in arms everytime someone calls someone gay or a fag. People need to get off their high horse and get over it. Most people have sworn or said the wrong thing in their life, so move on.
I've got a gay mate and we all say the word gay and sometimes worse on a night out jokingly around him, or to him and he doesn't care less, he knows we don't care about his gender choices, but we just respect the bloke for the good he does. My partners uncle is gay as well, and he's exactly the same. If he was in a blue and it someone said it with intent then it would fire him up, but if it was just mates joking around he couldn't give a rats.
If the guy who was called a FGC, is actually gay and taken offence, maybe the comment backfired and was said in the heat of the moment. A simple personal apology should suffice.
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1) There is nothing 'hard' about using gay as an insult. There is nothing 'soft' about setting a clear line in the sand that homophobic slurs are unacceptable on the rugby league field.
2) There is a world of difference between in house jokes and comments that are broadcast to the public. Ask your mate what he thinks of 'gay' and 'homo' being tossed around as insults in the public domain. If he has no problems with it, then that's great for him. He clearly feels accepted by the community and comfortable in his sexuality. It is completely different for a teenager who is grappling with his/her sexual orientation. What do you think they feel when they hear a comment tossed around like that on the football field? Unwelcome comes to mind.
3) It has absolutely nothing to do with the sexual orientation of the individual the comment was directed at. Using the term as an insult implies there is something wrong with being homosexual. I doubt Moses believes that, but what he believes is irrelevant. It conveys that message. It conveys a message that gay men and women are not welcome in the game. What would your response be if someone called a Polynesian player an 'ab* c***'? Sure the player is not Aboriginal but it's still a highly offensive and derogates the Aboriginal community.
4) Equating wanker with a homophobic slur is shockingly stupid. As in incredible. What group of people does that marginalise? Just extraordinary you would try and equate the two and shows you have absolutely no understanding of the issue at hand.
I feel for Moses because I'm sure it is common on the field, and the fact he said it does not mean he is homophobic or has character flaws. I'm extremely happy the NRL has established a precedent. Homophobic slurs should be treated exactly the same as racist slurs. Completely unacceptable.
To those who claim it is a PR thing, I think that is an oversimplification. Or at least I hope that is an oversimplification. I would like to think the reason the game is cracking down on it is because it is offensive to a segment of the population and is no longer acceptable in Rugby League.
My comment re: wanker was in jest TimmyB. I couldn't care less that the NRL are taking action. Moses was stupid enough to get caught saying it, he ought to face the music for his actions/words.
My comments were a dig at the circus and hyperbole that a topic like this creates, rather than the topic itself.
