Warren Mundine slams the NRL

Indigenous activist Nyunggai Warren Mundine has slammed the NRL’s decision to support Labor’s Voice to Parliament, accusing the code of being “totally out of touch” with its supporters.

The NRL confirmed its support on Tuesday, becoming the first football code to officially back the Yes campaign ahead of the referendum expected later this year.

But according to Mr Mundine – a prominent opponent of the Voice – the NRL’s move is an “elitist approach” which is being “pushed by sponsors”.

Mr Mundine said he wished sporting codes would “just do what they’re supposed to do,” adding he did not think the NRL’s decision would result in a boost for the Yes campaign. “The Australian public is not stupid. They’re not mugs. They know that this is political kowtowing,” Mr Mundine said on Tuesday.

The businessman said he regularly received phone calls from people within sporting bodies like the NRL and AFL who opposed the Voice proposal. “I get phone calls every day of the week from players and ex-players and people working within the NRL and the AFL and that who are not happy,” he said.

“They are not going to vote yes. They’re going to vote no. But they are living in fear.

Do we really need to have our sporting codes living under fear?” Mr Mundine said he didn’t know what the process was leading up to the NRL’s decision, but that he hoped it had heard from both sides of the debate. “It should be about a properly balanced education program. Now, if Mr V’landys hasn’t done that, then all he is is a propagandist,” Mr Mundine said, referring to the Chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission. “All he is is a person who’s just taken one position without getting a full picture of the whole thing. “And quite frankly, that is not how Australians are. They like to hear the full story before they make up their own decision about how they are going to vote.”

Mr Mundine pointed out that if the No campaign is successful, the NRL will be exposed as being “totally out of touch with the Australian people and totally out of touch with their own supporters.”

“In fact, we’ve got a campaign coming up where ordinary Aboriginal people – bush people, people in remote and regional Australia – will be coming out and saying, ‘this is not our voice’,” Mr Mundine said.

“What is the NRL going to say to those Aboriginal people? What are they going to say to those people out there in those communities? Bugger off we’re the NRL, we’re this elite organisation and we can do what we like?”

“First Nations communities have deep bonds with Rugby League and are part of our fabric at all levels, from grassroots participants and fans to the Indigenous stars who light up the NRL and NRLW,” the statement said. “True change comes through listening, learning and taking action – and we encourage everyone in the Rugby League community to get informed by the facts, and use their voice, so that we can move forward together.” As one nation!