Rainbow connection for Chiefs
Chiefs players wore rainbow bootlaces in their Super Rugby game against the Reds, letting their feet do the talking for gay rights solidarity and straightshooting halfback Brad Weber.
Weber, who came off the bench in the 36-12 win, was sent a bundle of the laces by the NZ Falcons, an Auckland-based gay and inclusive rugby team.
He and several team-mates wore them against the Reds at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday night. So did some of the Chiefs’ coaching and support staff.
One-test All Black Weber was the first high-profile New Zealand player to voice public disquiet about Wallaby Israel Folau, saying on social media his Christian belief was gay people are going to ‘‘hell, if they don’t repent of their sins’’.
All Blacks and Hurricanes halfback TJ Perenara also took a stand against Folau, in the process donating $500 to NZ Falcons, who are fundraising to travel to a tournament in June.
Perenara kicked things off with a $500 donation to their Givealittle campaign on Wednesday.
By Sunday afternoon more than $3600 had been raised.
The NZ Falcons put a photo of Weber’s new laces on Instagram, thanking him and Perenara for their support.
The photo included a message from Weber: ‘‘Proud to support inclusion for all, #loveislove’’.
Earlier, Weber had tweeted he was ‘‘Kinda sick of us players staying quiet on some of this stuff’’ in the wake of the Folau comments.
He has gay relatives who he called ‘‘some of the most kind, caring & loving people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing’’.
Perenara wrote he was 100 per cent ‘‘against the comments that were made by Israel. It was not ok to say that. It’s not an attitude I want to see in the game I love’’.
Two years ago Chiefs players wore coloured laces to support unwell children in Waikato Hospital. As part of the campaign, the players selected a coloured pair of shoe laces, which were part of a pack they gifted to each child.
The players wore one lace in their match against the Waratahs in Sydney, and the child kept the other lace.