New Zealand Rugby has ordered an Auckland club to take down sexist signs after a complaint was made by Bridie Nanai, Auckland Rugby’s women’s development officer.
Photos of some images on the walls at the club were posted on Twitter and as a result Nanai – who is married to Blues fullback Melani Nanai – asked New Zealand Rugby for an explanation.
NZR replied that the images – which have been deleted from Twitter – would be urgently removed. One of them was a joke about virginity. It read: “Virginity is like a balloon, one prick and it’s gone.”
Hi Bridie. Thank you for making us aware of these unacceptable images. They have no place in any rugby environment. Takapuna Rugby Club and North Harbour Rugby have been contacted and are working with urgency to have these images removed.
— New Zealand Rugby (@NZRugby) May 10, 2019
However, NZ Rugby’s response was not enough for some fans who questioned how long the images were ignored by NZ Rugby officials.
“How many times did NZ Rugby officials walk past these “unacceptable images” and say nothing, do nothing?” asked one fan. “You are complicit in normalising these attitudes. And it is the ATTITUDES depicted, in addition to the images, which cause serious offence.
“Every male player, official, Union representative has a mother, possibly sisters and daughters too.