26 Apr 2019

Homophobic slurs rife in young rugby - report

From Morning Report, 8:25 am on 26 April 2019

A new study from Monash University has found that most young boys playing rugby are exposed to homophobic slurs. The research was published yesterday, two weeks after the Wallabies star Israel Folau was stood down by the New South Wales Rugby Union and Rugby Australia after posting anti-gay comments based on Old Testament teachings. In the last rugby season, 75 percent of those surveyed heard their teammates using homophobic slurs within the past two weeks, about half admitted to using the slurs themselves, and almost one in four heard their coaches using words like 'fag' and 'poof'. Erik Denison from Monash University's School of Social Sciences is the lead researcher. He talks to Kim Savage.