Manly Sea Eagles owner Scott Penn has expressed his desire to work with the NRL on introducing an inclusion round next season, following a week of turmoil over the club's pride jersey. Penn returned to Sydney from the USA on Thursday and met with the seven players who boycotted last weekend's match against the Sydney Roosters due to religious and cultural objections to the jersey.
The boycotting players have been asked to stay away from Thursday night's game at Brookvale Oval over safety concerns, after police conducted a risk assessment. Manly interim chief executive Gary Wolman stated that the decision was made for the players' safety and wellbeing, though police confirmed no formal threats had been reported.
Penn emphasised that the club's intention with the jersey was to promote inclusivity for all, regardless of race, religion, gender, disability or sexual orientation. He announced that Manly owners would donate $100,000 to the Gotcha4Life charity, with proceeds from the game supporting the mental welfare of the LGBTQI community.
Speaking to AAP, Penn said: 'We will take some learnings out of this but the most important thing is we will be bigger and stronger next year. We would like that to be with a game-wide initiative.' He expressed confidence that all players would participate in an inclusion round after a year of dialogue, adding: 'It's about mutual respect and inclusiveness of everyone.'
ARLC chair Peter V'landys has indicated he is open to the idea of a pride or inclusion round, noting that the decision rests with the Commission. Penn vowed to wear an inclusion jersey again in 2023 and said the club would conduct a review into why staff and players were not aware of the jersey before its public release.
