Johnathan Thurston gets behind global 'homophobia free sport' campaign

'The only thing that should matter in sport, is how you play on the field', says NRL and North Queensland Cowboy star Johnathan Thurston in the lead up to this weekend's Rainbow Round.

Johnathan Thurston

Johnathan Thurston shows off his multi-coloured laces. Picture: Skins Australia Source: Twitter

Rugby League legend Johnathan Thurston has joined efforts to boot homophobia out of sports by embracing #RainbowLaces.

The hashtag grew to be the top trend on Twitter on Tuesday morning and is part of a wider effort to stamp out problems around homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in sport, and call on more people to stand together.

In a short video from SKINS Australia, Thurston says it’s 2016, yet homophobia is still a big problem in sport.
He says the only thing that should matter in sport, is how people play on the field.

Thurston is encouraging people to join with him and pick up a pair of free #RainbowLaces to “help kick homophobia out for good” for this week’s rainbow round of sport.

Tweets have emerged from across Europe and groups as varied as businesses to teachers and those in sport.
Stonewall, a UK-based charity for LGBT equality, make the laces and led the charge into the viral hashtag.

It says seven in 10 fans have heard homophobic abuse on terraces in football alone.

NITV has contacted Johnathan Thurston for comment.
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Published 29 March 2016 10:59am
Updated 31 March 2016 1:39pm
By Philip Ly


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