'People say that sport and politics shouldn't mix', but they do as Rugby Australia ponders Voice to Parliament stance

Who wants to hear about politics from someone who is paid millions to play basketball? Stay in your lane, LeBron, and worry about your on-court legacy. Forget the $20 million your family foundation invested into a new school, and the $1 million you spend on teacher salaries every year. Forget your crusade to protect people's voting rights.

Because "sport and politics don't mix". Except they do - and they always will.

So as Rugby Australia faces pressure from within to take a neutral stance on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, perhaps they should reassess their stance - and ACT Senator David Pocock expects them to.

The ACT Rugby board has taken the unanimous view the Brumbies should not pick a side on the issue, which would would provide permanent representation and recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the constitution.

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The issue at a player level is a more complicated one. Many are still trying to understand what the Voice means and what impact it will have, which is why Brumbies players are yet to comment.

Proud Indigenous Canberra Raiders Jack Wighton and Jamal Fogarty are in the same boat - they want to educate themselves before speak publicly.

The NRL, Football Australia, Tennis Australia and the Australian Olympic Committee have either voiced support for the campaign or backed the Uluru statement from the heart.

Rugby Australia has been slow to act. There are concerns within Super Rugby circles that backing the Voice to Parliament could spark more division in the game after Israel Folau was driven out by a cocktail mixing sport with religion.

Pocock, the former Brumbies and Wallabies flanker, disrupts the status quo even better than he did breakdowns.

Pocock says there is "so much at stake" in addressing the needs and wants of First Nations Australians, adamant backing the Voice to Parliament provides recognition and a say on laws which affect them.

"There's a long history of sport playing a role in social change. A history of sport having an active role in these conversations and challenging society to think about issues," Pocock said.

"Given Rugby Australia's leadership on tackling homophobia, being the first football code to have an inclusion policy, then their support of marriage equality, I'd be very surprised if they don't support the Voice. Players and fans have loved including a Welcome to Country before Test matches and playing in the Wallabies Indigenous jersey.

"The Uluru Statement from the Heart is a generous offer to all Australians that I'd encourage everyone to read and learn more about. We have an opportunity to take up that offer in the referendum and move forward together as a country."

In 2015, Pocock addressed the notion that athletes should stay in their own lane.

"People say that sport and politics shouldn't mix," Pocock said, "but I think it is important that sportspeople are interested in stuff outside of sport and talk about it. Rightly or wrongly, kids look up to professional athletes and if I can get young kids thinking about those sorts of issues that is a positive thing."

Pocock has long made stands on LGBTIQ rights, environmentalism and agricultural reform, chaining himself to a responsibility to buck the norm as if it were the Maules Creek mine site.

Sport is laced with athletes who have used their platform to spark change. Muhammad Ali pulled no punches as a political activist. Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised black-gloved fists on the podium at the 1968 Olympic Games, and NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee in 2016 in protest against racial violence.

The Raiders and Wests Tigers were among scores of NRL teams to take a knee during 2020's black lives matter movement. The moment lasts only seconds but it leaves a lasting imprint in the minds of those who witness it.

"I preach about my people and I preach about equality, social injustice, racism, systematic voter suppression, things that go on in our community," NBA superstar James said in 2021.

"I'll use my platform to continue to shed light on everything that's going on around this country and around the world. There's no way I would ever just stick to sports, because I understand how powerful this platform and my voice is."

As Rugby Australia wonders whether to weigh in on giving First Nations Australians a voice, they could ponder the words of theologist Desmond Tutu: "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality."

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