Australian Basketball Team Refuses To Wear Pride Jerseys Citing Religious Beliefs, Coach 'Proud' Of Decision

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Cairns Taipans, a professional basketball team of the NBL in Australia, refused to wear gay pride-themed jerseys during their game against East Melbourne Phoenix on Wednesday.

Multiple players reportedly voiced concerns about wearing the rainbow logo due to their religious beliefs, so the team as a whole elected not to wear the logo on their jerseys.

The NBL is hosting its first-ever pride round where teams could opt to wear a rainbow logo on their regular jerseys.

After his team's loss to East Melbourne, Taipan's head coach Adam Forde explained that his team was under "targeted attacks" before explaining why the team as a whole elected not to wear the gay pride-themed jerseys.

"We're doing this because we got around our brothers and we want to protect each other and rather than feel like we're getting singled out for any particular reason. I'm proud of them for it," Forde said, according to ABC Sport.

Prior to their game on Wednesday, Cairns Taipans shared a statement on social media explaining the decision not to wear the gay pride logo.

"This is a negative distraction to what should be a positive experience across the game, and now we feel as though our only choice as a team is to collectively opt out of this season's uniforms," the statement read in part.

"This is not a reflection of our individual stances or personal vies, but a protection of our brothers that are being set up to be vilified and no longer feel as though they have a safe space in our sport."

James McKern, who used to work for ESPN, was infuriated by the team's choice not to wear the rainbow logo:

NBL owner Larry Kestelman showed support for Taipan's players, explaining "if any player or team elect not to wear the jersey, we will respect that decision."

Wow, a professional sports league *actually* practicing real inclusivity. The NHL may want to take notes.

Follow Mark Harris on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.