The SMH argues that LGBT people should be socially acceptable and to that end athletes in all sports should be role models by using their high profiles.
The SMH argues the reality that LGBT people are being rejected by their community just because of their sexuality is a blight on Australia in the 21st century.
The Mardi Gras is an annual celebration of survival and a display of how much the homosexual community has achieved in the face of doubters.
But when it is over for another year, sexual minorities will face the disheartening reality of life again.
Australian children are still bullied for simply their sexual identity.
Ian Roberts, the first in the world and still one of the only Rugby League players to come out publically as gay, knows that he can and must make a difference.
The SMH praises Mr Roberts for keeping up the fight for gays and lesbians to be treated equally and judged by their actions and words, not by their sexual orientation.
It suggests that Athletes in all sports should be role models for acceptance and equality by utilizing their high profiles and sporting codes could play an integral role in tackling discrimination, given that stereotypical views of Australian masculinity still dominate in sport.
The SMH also points out that the NRL could and should have done more for its players and those supporters who look up to them.
