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Rugby Union Issues Statement About Anti-Gay Action On Saturday, June 17, a rugby team called "Rock B/Fire," made up partially of FDNY firefighters, refused to play a match against a gay team, the Gotham Knights, after the Knights refused to guarantee that none of their players had HIV. Both teams were participating in the Rockaway Sevens tournament on Long Island. While the Knights have refused to offer any comment on the incident, the president of the Metropolitan New York Rugby Union sent this letter to the union's members this past week: Members of the Metropolitan NY Rugby Union: It has come to our attention that an incident occurred at the recent Rockaway Sevens tournament in which a small group of players refused to play against another club based on fears involving the HIV status of the opposing players. Those that refused to participate were part of a "social" side that consisted of seven players that had been put together on the day of the tournament to fill a vacancy in one of the tournament brackets. While the players on this side were predominantly Rockaway RFC alumni, the tournament organizers and others have confirmed that the group did not officially represent any specific club or organization. As a result of these members refusing to play, that side did not have enough players to compete in the match and a forfeit was awarded. It appears that the few players who chose to forfeit acted out of personal fears grounded in misconceptions as to the nature of HIV itself and the means and manner by which it might be transmitted. It does not appear that there was any malice in the actions of these players. It appears that the above referenced incident was the result of the unfounded fears of a very small minority of the forfeiting group's members and that it was simply easier for this loosely organized group to forfeit and go home late in the day than to convince those members that they were wrong. For over a decade, it has been IRB law, USA Rugby policy and rule of this union, that any player who is bleeding or who has an open wound must be removed from the field of play and not return until the wound is dealt with and the bleeding stopped. The reason for the policy is to protect all players from the risk of blood borne disease. This policy, and the "blood bin" laws that implement it, were adopted in part to address concerns of transmission of blood borne diseases, including HIV/AIDS, despite medical statistics that there is no measurable risk of such transmission through contact sports. Sound policy, however, must assume that any participant in a contact sport might carry a blood borne infection. The above "blood bin" policies embody the standards used by groups such as the World Health Organization, the U.S. Olympic Committee, the National Basketball Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics sports medicine specialists. The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine and the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine have conducted extensive research in conjunction with the above organizations and all agree that that the risk of sports related transmission of HIV is sufficiently small so that it cannot even be quantified. The above groups have concluded that there is no medical or scientific basis to bar HIV-positive athletes from competition, or even to require HIV testing. During the hundreds of thousands of high-contact sports contests played since HIV first emerged, there has never been a single documented case of HIV transmission. It should be made clear that the Metropolitan New York Rugby Union does not sanction or condone discrimination based on race, color, religion, age, gender, national origin, disability, or sexual preference. Such ignorance and/or intolerance would be considered conduct unbecoming a rugby club and may be subject to sanction under our disciplinary guidelines.
Edward J. Hughes, Jr.
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