The NRL and Australian Rugby League Commission have flagged the idea of holding a 'respect round', rather than a pride round, with commission chairman Peter V'Landys saying everyone's views must be acknowledged.
It comes with the NRL still reeling from the Manly Sea Eagles' pride jersey debacle in 2022.
The Sea Eagles attempted to introduce a jersey with rainbow stripes on it, labelling it the 'everyone in rugby league' jersey. The jersey's announcement ultimately saw seven players sit out the game citing religious beliefs against the Sydney Roosters, with the club then failing to win another game for the season.
Des Hasler lost his job as head coach over the debacle, and it seems other coaches are unwilling to go down the same path.
In a survey conducted by News Corp of both coaches and assistant coaches, responses were split, with 42 per cent of coaches suggesting they would encourage their players to wear a pride jersey, but the same amount saying no, while 16 per cent didn't answer.
Half the NRL coaches surveyed also said the NRL should not introduce a pride round.
V'Landys, speaking to the publication, suggested a pride round wouldn't be introduced, but a respect round would be.
“We were always going to look at a Respect Round,” V'landys said.
“What a Respect Round is, is that it respects everyone's views. We might not agree with them, but we respect them.
“So if we were going to do anything we were going to do a Respect Round. It wasn't going to be a Pride Round because then you alienate other people.
“We pride ourselves on being an inclusive game. To be an inclusive game you have to respect everyone's view.”
Other sporting codes have introduced pride jerseys or rounds with varying degrees of success.
The Cairns Taipans in the NBL became the latest club to attempt a rainbow jersey last week during the competition's pride round, although that blew up spectacularly, with players refusing to wear it, and the NBL refusing to mandate the jerseys for players.
The Taipans ultimately decided the jersey wouldn't be worn by any player on the team, something the Sea Eagles didn't do last year, instead holding firm.
It's understood the Sea Eagles have been wrestling with the idea of whether to wear a similar jersey next season ever since.
Call it ‘Respect’ or ‘Pride’, it will still be viewed by players and fans as supporting a political standpoint.
To avoid further aggravation of the sort we saw last year, the sensible approach would have been for PVL to say: “the NRL – as an organisation – will not support political initiatives”.
For players who do not want to be drawn into controversy, the sensible thing to do will be – when your next contract renewal comes up, or when you are changing clubs – include a clause in the contract that says something like:
“1 the player will not be required to wear any uniform, armband etc that demonstrates support for any political or social cause. In the event that the club chooses to follow such a path, the player will be stood down for that week on full pay, and with no criticism from the club”
“2 in return, the player agrees to not criticise any political / social stand that the club makes”