Premiership Rugby working to promote LGBT inclusion
Premiership Rugby and England Rugby today announced a commitment to work with Stonewall, which will see the three organisations support and promote LGBT inclusion in rugby.
The game-wide initiative will see Premiership Rugby and England Rugby work with Stonewall to assess current inclusion programmes and practises and to work on integrating best practise into rugby at all levels.
As part of their commitment, Premiership Rugby, the RFU and the Rugby Players’ Association (RPA) will once again support the Rainbow Laces campaign, scheduled for November 2017.
Stonewall will become Premiership Rugby’s latest inclusion partner, following the league’s work with the following organisations: Equality and Human Rights Commission, Level Playing Field and Sporting Equals.
Wayne Morris, Community and CSR Director at Premiership Rugby, said: “Inclusion is one of five core values at Premiership Rugby and, as a values-driven sport, we take our commitment to it seriously. We want our fans and our supporters to feel welcome at our matches and to feel that rugby is a sport that they can get involved with at any level.
“Many of our existing community programmes are about encouraging people to consider rugby as a sport that is available to them, but inclusion goes beyond what happens on the pitch or through our programmes. We want Premiership Rugby to be welcoming to all people, be it as a participant, fan, employee, coach or volunteer, and we want to ensure we are doing as much as we can to achieve this. As a result we are delighted to be working with Stonewall in this area and to work with them on promoting LGBT inclusion.”
Ruth Hunt, CEO of Stonewall, said:
“It’s crucial for organisations like Premiership Rugby and England Rugby to show leadership and become active members of the Rainbow Laces movement. Many LGBT people want to take part in sport, as either players or fans, and to do this, they need really clear signals that they are welcome.
“Our campaign is about encouraging people, and organisations like Premiership Rugby and England Rugby, to come out for LGBT people and show their support. Together we can help create sports fields where all fans, players, coaches, officials and volunteers feel able to be themselves and where sport truly is everyone’s game.”
More information on both Premiership Rugby and England Rugby’s work in this area including Rainbow Laces will be announced in due course.
