For a country crippled by obesity, it’s not hard to see where Australia might be getting it wrong. Aside from a tendency to shut down playgrounds and lock every citizen indoors, the discriminatory state of our sports should take the brunt of the blame. In NRL, religious beliefs have practically become grounds for termination, with offending athletes subjected to ridicule and public shame for any case of wrongthink. Even choosing to sit aside while Pride gestures take place has become unthinkable within the game after the abhorrent treatment of seven Manly Eagles players who refused to wear LGBTQ+-themed jerseys.

Not be undone, the A-league recently forced children playing friendly kick-arounds to wear rainbow colours too. Any child that refused was excluded in order to make the event more inclusive [sic]. The prevailing message hammered by our sports has become clear; talent, work ethic, and ability count for nothing if your beliefs don’t align with Woke corporate forces.

With over 50 per cent of Australians holding religious views, this means more than half of our population is no longer welcome in our national sports, while public voices continue to ask why obesity or sedentary lifestyles are so prevalent. It’s hardly a mystery – if children cannot aspire to reach the same level as their idols on merit, why would they spend time training or practicing? Worse yet, no loving parent would encourage their child to pursue a career path at odds with their values and identity in the first place.

Blocking the prospect of fame and success only disincentivises future generations from leading an active lifestyle, especially in low-income demographics where religious beliefs tend to be stronger and the risk of obesity is higher. Sadly, trusting the Science is not an option on this one; there is no room for medical advice or empirical evidence that dares to question the behaviour of LGBTQ+ activists, a replica of the silence among health experts during the Monkeypox outbreak.

While preventing obesity is possible without farming professional athletes, there is little hope of Australia improving public health if we continue to put politics ahead of practical solutions. Religious beliefs have prevailed through war, genocide, and systemic oppression for thousands of years, they will not cease at the will of hard-Left voices in our sports. Governing bodies must learn to put their bigotry aside and tolerate religious players as a condition of the generous public funding they rely on. There is no reason why taxpayers should continue to subsidise institutions that discriminate against them.

In the meantime, progressive zealots should learn that dress codes and public uniforms share an indistinguishable history with fascism. Mandating Pride colours for the sake of a cultural statement is no better than mandating oppressive religious garb for the same purpose. Such tribalism has no place here.

In freedom, democracy beats culture. It’s time for Australia to put true progress ahead of Pride and open our national sports to the entire country.