Manly make a stunning backflip on whether they’ll wear Pride jersey in the NRL 2023 season

Manly is now undecided on whether the club will wear a Pride jersey in 2023 after previous management had vowed the rainbow-tinged strip was here to stay.

The Sea Eagles were left fractured after a decision to wear the Pride strip during Women in League round to promote inclusion of the LGBTIQA+ community.

Seven players infamously stood down from that match against the Sydney Roosters which led to a seven-game losing skid that cost the Sea Eagles a shot at the NRL finals.

There were rumours of long-lasting fractures and rifts following that decision, but former Manly management stuck to their guns and declared that the strip would feature again in 2023.

Now, new CEO Tony Mestrov has declared that things are not so certain and the club is undecided on whether to wear the rainbow jersey again next season. 

‘The club hasn’t made a decision,’ Mestrov said to The Daily Telegraph.

‘In all honesty it’s something that hasn’t been discussed internally.

‘We need to do a lot better in the way we communicate and educate — it was a warning for the club.

‘Until we can do that better I don’t think it’s a discussion point.’

Previous boss Scott Penn had declared that the jersey would be worn in 2023. 

‘We’re not going to force them to play, but we’re committed to the jersey and we’re committed to inclusion. We’re not walking away from our position. And we respect their beliefs,’ Penn said to the Sydney Morning Herald in July.

Mestrov’s statements has again divided Manly supporters who took to social media to express their anger for or against the pride jersey decision. 

‘ust goes to show how well club bosses know their players and there beliefs. Islanders are and always will be committed to there religion. This doesn’t mean they don’t respect their club and team mates whatever their views are,’ one fan posted.

‘As a Sea Eagle fan of over 50 years this current management are a disgrace who won’t except criticism that they brought on themselves by not owning there mistakes.’

‘Committed to inclusion’ by excluding players that don’t want to wear it. You cant make this stuff up,’ posted another.

‘If you’re going to have the jersey again & miss 7 players at least use it when you play Dolphins, Tigers or Knights you should still beat them with half a team,’ added another.

Josh Aloiai was one of the seven players that stood down and refused to wear the Pride jersey and previously spoke about the backlash those players had received.

‘[We received] death threats, my family got threats, I got threats about my son,’ Aloiai told Channel Nine.

Josh Aloiai of the Sea Eagles refuses to wear a Pride jersey and said his family had received death threats because of it

‘You should never be put in a situation where your religious views or cultural views and beliefs conflict with your job.

‘Our atheist boys, for Easter round, [if] we wanted to wear a Christian jersey and they weren’t comfortable in doing that… it’s all the same – I will support them.

‘We still have nothing but respect for people that choose to live that way of life.

‘We personally don’t want to live that way or endorse it but, at the same time, we quietly took our stance and didn’t say anything hateful or hurtful.