Ex-Manly Warringah Sea Eagles prop Ian Roberts says it "saddens" him that several of the club's players will reportedly boycott the decision to wear a pride jersey against Sydney.
The Sea Eagles are set to face the Roosters on Thursday in a specialised rainbow strip showing their support for the LGBTQ+ community.
But it has been reported that possibly more than half-a-dozen stars are set to refuse to feature, citing they were not consulted by the club, leaving Roberts - the first rugby footballer in either code to come out as gay, in 1995, frustrated.
"LGBTIQA people have always been a part of sport but haven’t always been allowed the visibility," he said.
"Honestly, I have been trying to get the NRL to have a pride round for the past three years and it still hasn’t got the traction it deserves.
"It saddens me because they think having a float at the Mardi Gras is enough and it’s not."
Gold Coast Titans have sacked former captain Kevin Proctor after the 33-year-old posted a video of himself appearing to vape at half-time during his side's NRL loss to Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
The Queensland outfit were downed 36-26 at CommBank Stadium by the Bulldogs on Sunday to keep them marooned joint-bottom of the ladder with Wests Tigers after a miserable season.
Ex-skipper Proctor - who was a non-playing member of the matchday squad as 19th man - appeared to be seen inhaling from a vape pen during the interval in a since-deleted video posted to Instagram, with the Titans trailing 26-10.
Both vaping and the use of mobile phones in dressing rooms are a breach of stadium and sport integrity rules, and Gold Coast have now opted to dismiss the second-rower out of hand, with a $15,000 fine to boot.
Proctor, a former Kiwi Test veteran and an NRL Premiership winner in 2012 with Melbourne, was a flagship purchase for the Titans when he arrived for the 2017, and held the armband until the end of last term.
His dismissal may spell the end of his first-grade career in Australia, with several sides already juggling tight salary cap restrictions.
The Jamaica Olympic Association issued a statement on Tuesday congratulating the national senior women’s and under-19 men’s teams on their silver medals at the recently concluded Rugby Americas North tournament held at the UWI Mona Bowl.
The women's senior team narrowly missed out on first place losing to USA South 14-17 in the final while the men's under-19 team suffered a 10-56 loss to the same opponents.
“The Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) congratulates our member, the Jamaica Rugby Football Union, and its players for historic and silver medal performances in the recently concluded 2022 RAN Senior Women’s 12s and Men’s Under-19 tournament at the University of the West Indies,” said JOA President Christopher Samuda in the statement.
The statement continued: “Rugby in the local Olympic movement is quickly becoming a flagship sport and the JOA will continue to invest in our Reggae Crocs who are demonstrating that the nation's talent is deep and our prowess multi-faceted.”
“The JOA will always invest in giving reality to the ambitions and aspirations of our youth in sport. The sport of rugby is tough and gruelling and our men and women continue to put their health on the line for a nation. The JOA remains extremely grateful to our national players for their valour and salute them for their admirable display of patriotism.”
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