Another member of the ‘Manly 7' has spoken out about the incident that was seen by many to derail the club's 2022 season, with Josh Aloiai remaining unrepentant about the situation, admitting he would still refuse to wear a pride jersey in 2023.
With multiple members of the group now on World Cup duty and no longer being protected from the media by the club, some members have now spoken out about the incident.
“You should never be put in a situation where your religious views or your cultural views and beliefs conflict with your job,” Aloiai told 9 News.
“Like our atheist boys – if for Easter round we wanted to wear a Christian jersey and they weren't comfortable then it's all the same, I'd support them.
“We still have nothing but respect for people that choose to live that way of life. We don't personally want to live that way or endorse it, but at the same time we quietly took our stance and didn't say anything hateful or hurtful.
“Instead we were the ones called everything under the sun. My family got threats, I got threats about my son.”
Aloiai blamed the media for fuelling the hate against the group, saying his gay sister was happy to support and understand his decision.
“She knows I love her to bits and throughout all of this we did have a chat and she totally understood where I was coming from," he said.
“Corey Parker said ‘don't pick and choose', he hammered us in the media. ‘You run out with your gambling-sponsored jerseys in your beer-sponsored stadium.
“I'd love for him to show me in the bible where it mentions gambling – it doesn't. Nor does it forbid alcohol. He's an idiot.”
Aloiai was upfront when asked if he'd wear the jersey next year, given the club has already confirmed it is likely to do something similar again to promote equality.
“I won't. We didn't compromise this year, we won't compromise this year or the year after. Difference of opinion is not a difference of respect.”
While he refuses to budge on the issue of inclusion, Aloiai recently came under fire for his public support of former teammate Manase Fainu, who was found guilty of stabbing a church leader during a brawl in October, 2019.
