Australian rugby star David Pocock reaffirmed his long-running stand against homophobia in a new YouTube video.
In the video from Dove Men+Care titled “David Pocock’s Journey to Strength,” the rugby player encourages everyone to stand up for what they think is right.
For Pocock, that means attempting to break outdated perceptions of masculinity and fighting homophobia both on and off the field.
Last year, in the final stages of a heated match with Waratah, Pocock twice approached referee Craig Joubert and called out homophobic slurs that he heard being made against his teammates by opposition players―a move which divided the rugby community.
The player is reported to have said to Joubert: “You heard that sir … You can’t say that, there could be gay players out here.”
“What happened was the result of a lot of our team actually talking about homophobia in sport, and agreeing that we weren’t going to stand for it,” David explains in the new video.
“When it happened on the field, it was kind of a split-second decision to say, ‘That’s not right.’”
David initially came under fire for his earlier remarks but doesn’t regret his decision, saying that, “If you don’t speak up for what’s right, you’re actually denying a part of yourself.”
“I’m willing to take whatever consequences there might be, because for me I feel it’s the right thing to do.”
Pocock has also previously come out in favour of marriage equality and has said that he and his girlfriend will not marry until same-sex couples have the ability to do so.
“We can wait. I think for us it’s something we don’t really want to be part of, if all of our (gay) friends don’t have that same opportunity if they want to get married,” he’s previously said.
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