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<\/p>\nNational Basketball League star Marcus Lee has cautioned against pushing people away from important conversations about LGBTQIA+ rights by taking an all-or-nothing approach to Pride rounds.<\/p>\n
Starting this week, the NBL is celebrating its fourth Pride Round, with all courts decked out in the Pride flag and players invited to wear jerseys featuring the same logo.<\/p>\n
The New Zealand Breakers have opted out of wearing the Pride flag on their uniforms.<\/p>\n
A statement from the club said it still “strongly supports” the event, but some players had raised religious and cultural concerns about wearing the Pride flag.<\/p>\n
“In line with the league’s voluntary participation policy to wear the patch, the players discussed the matter as a team,” the statement from the Breakers said.<\/p>\n
“To protect individual players from being singled out for their beliefs, the team collectively decided they would either all wear the insignia or none would.”<\/p>\n
Change possible in middle ground, Lee says<\/p>\n
In 2022, Isaac Humphries \u2014 then with Melbourne United, now with the Adelaide 36ers \u2014 became the first openly gay male to play in the NBL and the second in any top-tier basketball league in the world.<\/p>\n
Lee is one of Humphries’s close friends and has this year volunteered to be included in promotional content for Pride Round as an ally.<\/p>\n
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Marcus Lee says his friendship with Isaac Humphries helped shape his support for the NBL\u2019s Pride round as an ally. (Getty Images: Morgan Hancock)<\/p>\n
The American import said forcing players to wear the rainbow flag on their jersey would undermine the round’s purpose of fostering open dialogue.<\/p>\n
In the Breakers’ case, he said the outcome was not as important as the fact that they had discussed it.<\/p>\n
“A couple of years ago, these conversations weren’t happening, and it was not an option \u2014 we didn’t have jerseys, we didn’t have the conversation,” he said.<\/p>\n
“And now it’s something that a coach or an owner has to sit down with the team like, ‘How do you guys feel about this?’<\/p>\n
“It’s still an option, it’s still your choice, but we want to make sure that they have all the information, and then we get everybody’s side on it.<\/p>\n
“It gives people a little bit more grace.”<\/p>\n
In 2023, the Cairns Taipans made a similar decision not to wear the rainbow logo for Pride Round, though they have worn one every year since.<\/p>\n
In 2024, the Taipans announced an official partnership with Pride in Sport \u2014 a national not-for-profit sporting inclusion program \u2014 which is hosting “Empowering Allies” training sessions for players, coaches and staff across the league during this year’s Pride Round.<\/p>\n
ABC Sport Daily podcast<\/a><\/p>\n ABC Sport Daily is your daily sports conversation. We dive into the biggest story of the day and get you up to speed with everything else that’s making headlines.<\/p>\n Lee, who joined the Taipans last year, said change usually happened in the middle ground.<\/p>\n “You don’t want to force anything on anybody, and that’s not the point of this,” he said.<\/p>\n “You want to start this conversation, and then slowly things alter. That’s what made me really excited this year \u2014 we have a bunch of guys who are just open to the conversation.<\/p>\n “We’re not here to change your opinion, but we just want to make a place where everybody’s comfortable to be who they are.”<\/p>\n Lee said the NBL provided a useful lesson to other leagues yet to introduce Pride rounds: it does not have to be all or nothing.<\/p>\n “It might not be every team in every league starting immediately, but I think the biggest thing is it takes one domino to just start that,” he said.<\/p>\n “We’re trying to take one step at a time.”<\/p>\n ‘Everybody is welcome’, says Humphries<\/p>\n Humphries was unavailable for interview as he prepares for Friday’s game against the Breakers in New Zealand, but echoed Lee’s sentiments in a conversation with former NBL player AJ Ogilvy \u2014 who this week came out publicly as gay.<\/a><\/p>\n “It’s not anything about forcing; it’s just a bit of visibility for a community,” Humphries said.<\/p>\n “Learning to stop the judgement, accept people for who they are \u2014 that’s literally what we’re about, that’s our through line.<\/p>\n “I would just always encourage others to see that and understand that mindset. We’re just people trying to accept and include literally everybody.”<\/p>\n