Opinion: ‘Respect Round’ just about the stupidest thing V’landys has cooked up for NRL yet

Right now, the ARLC is being led by a dinosaur dragging the game backward, and his latest mistake is this strange “Respect Round” pitch.

In the three years since Peter V’landys claimed the Australian Rugby League Commission’s top job from outgoing chairman Peter Beattie, the long-time racing administrator has coughed up some pretty cooked ideas for rugby league.

For one, the 61-year-old seems eager to change the rules for the NRL basically every week. This strange desire from the administrator hit a fever pitch midway through the 2021 season when that year’s Magic Round was overshadowed by a crackdown that saw 14 sin bins at Suncorp Stadium across eight matches. Other changes have seen referees put into the firing line for changes they didn’t get to green light.

Then there’s the NRL.com shutdown. The website was lauded by the AFL, A-League, and a number of other sporting codes in Australia as an excellent marketing tool. So what does V’landys do? Pulls the kill switch nearly immediately.

There’s one thing V’landys has been riding for nearly three years, and that’s “getting the game back early” after the COVID-19 pandemic ground sporting leagues to a halt around the globe. Except the ever-eminent ARLC really only got the NRL going a week before the rest, so even that isn’t really much of a victory.

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And now, footy’s ruling dinosaur has decided to host a “Respect Round” this year.

Pardon? Come on Pete, it’s 2023. Coming back from Manly’s Pride jersey controversy last year with this response—trying to appeal to “everyone,” but really just regressing the image of the league back to the dark ages—is just about the most gutless thing this Sporting Base writer has seen in some time. You’re basically coming out and saying the LGBTIQ+ community has no place in rugby league.

Talking to News Corp, he said: “We were always going to look at a Respect Round. 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.”

The story then flared up again this week after one of the infamous Manly seven who refused to wear rainbow, Josh Aloiai, said the idea would promote “true inclusivity.”

“I don’t think we’ll be put into that position again,” Aloiai said. “Peter V’landys has spoken about a Respect Round, and I really like the thought of that… Respect Round makes a lot of sense.”

Now, we’re not saying anyone else’s views are wrong, per se. But when your beliefs deliberately ignore, beat down, and exclude another group who don’t have any choice in their lifestyle, that’s not “respecting everyone’s view.” And, no Josh, it certainly doesn’t “make a lot of sense.”

Thankfully, many in the NRL community are already ripping V’landys a new one for his stupid idea. On Twitter, @JesseBee1999 put it best: “We can’t do a pride round because that alienates people, but we can do a respect round where we have to respect other people’s views that alienate people. Makes sense.”

Unfortunately, the problem is wider and more deeply rooted than just V’landys. In a private survey regarding the Pride Round concept, just 33 percent of coaches voted to advocate for LGBTQ+ community causes.

It’s not just the NRL either—in the NBL, the full Cairns Taipans playing roster opted out of wearing the rainbow pride logo on their jerseys after a “barrage of abuse” on social media. But, in an even poorer look for V’landys and the NRL, after that, the NBL didn’t scrap its Pride Round idea. The league didn’t bend to outdated beliefs.

Elsewhere in Australia, the A-League is starting a Pride Round this year. The NBL and AFLW already host similar events.

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This Sporting Base writer doesn’t expect anything to change. But, we can only hope V’landys’ days are numbered. In his three years and three months at the helm the competition has felt regressive and outdated ideas on the playing field and off have seeped back in.

Here’s hoping if the league is going to go ahead with its “All Lives Matter” style celebration of exclusive ideas, it unveils that Respect Round date soon: I’d love to know which round not to tune into this season.

And here’s one last message to take away, from Adelaide United player Josh Cavallo, who came out as gay in 2021, talking ahead of the A-League’s first pride round: “It’s disappointing. I don’t think there’s any excuse not to have a pride round or pride shirt, or you don’t want to wear rainbow colours. It’s 2023. Grow up.” Download Our Free NRL App

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