Of course we should use ref mic; can anyone doubt that Basteraud would not have been ‘encouraged’ by Toulon to reflect on his words and then done a Trump and denied he used those words?curates_egg wrote:I'm not sure we should be using the rugby ref mic to police hate speech (or whatever his outburst would be characterised as) and rugby governing bodies to act as a judiciary. I'm honestly not sure how I feel about that. It is a potentially slippery slope for society.artaneboy wrote:A lot of suppositions there. Anyway- he was caught and that’s good.curates_egg wrote:3 weeks spot on. Sends the message that it is not the 1990s anymore, and players need to use appropriate language on the field, but recognises that it was a potetially hurtful and thoughtless outburst by Basta, rather than a targeted verbal attack on a gay rugby player.
Here is a fact: if it wasn't picked up on the mic, there is no problem, because the player he was shouting at (who supposedly isn't gay) wouldn't have cared, so it wouldn't have been reported.
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I am certain that I would prefer players not to use language like that. Once it is picked up, therefore, I believe he has to face the consequences.
If anyone was genuinely offended by his use of the word, and then felt that the sanction was not sufficient, I would hope they would use the proper legal avenues to deal with it (France has some pretty ancient hate speech legislation).
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