School rugby-tackling ban campaigners receive 'vile' abuse

Campaigners seeking a ban on tackling in school rugby have been on the receiving end of a backlash which included homophobic and sexist abuse, while one supporter claims that he was told not to attend a key event this weekend.

In what he views as a punitive measure after speaking this week in support of the proposed ban, Adam White, a board member of the England Rugby Football Schools Union (ERFSU), said he had been asked not to attend a prestigious rugby schools event this weekend at the Allianz Stadium, the home of Saracens, where he was due to act as a safeguarding officer.

White told the Guardian on Wednesday that restrictions along the lines of those proposed in an open letter signed by 70 doctors, health experts and academics were the only way to keep young people safe.

He said: “I am extremely disappointed that there already is the closing down of discussion in the RFU [Rugby Football Union] of some voices. It is quite evident that they are trying to lead the narrative on this and are perhaps not happy to listen to opposition.”

The RFU said White had offered to step down from the safeguarding duties, adding: “This was not instigated by the ERFSU or the RFU. There is no action presently being taken against Adam as a result of his media interviews this week. He is free to express his opinions, although it should be emphasised that he is not speaking on behalf of the ERSFU board.”

While the campaign has sparked passionate debate, a lead signatory to the letter said some of the criticism he had received included homophobic abuse.

Eric Anderson, professor of sport, masculinities and sexualities at the University of Winchester, was targeted for abuse after a Daily Mail article on Thursday which described those behind the campaign as “a motley scrum of lefties, gender obsessives and gay campaigners”.

Messages sent to him included one which read: “From an article in today’s Daily Mail it would appear that you are a pervert of extraordinary proportions and should be prosecuted for abusing young boys and men.”

Anderson said the Mail article had attacked him using comments which he said had been taken out of context and misrepresented. “I have received a number of emails … along the lines of ‘you are a pervert, I can’t believe our taxpayer’s pounds are being wasted on this’.”

Anderson said that many other messages of support had been sent, in some cases from those involved in playing, coaching and running rugby at a local level.

He added that the abuse did not reflect the culture of rugby today, adding: “My research into rugby shows, in fact, that rugby players are collectively a very gay-friendly, progressive group of people and I have published research on that and praised rugby for that capacity. I am not at war with rugby. I am at war with concussion and have respectful exchanges of views with those who disagree with me.”

Allyson Pollock, public health doctor, academic and author of Tackling Rugby: What Every Parent Should Know, said some of the criticism directed at her on social media since she signed the letter had crossed the line into “foul sexist abuse”.

She said: “There has been a certain amount of criticism along the lines of: ‘you don’t play the game, how dare you, as a woman, have an opinion on this or research injuries’. That’s one of the most frequent comments,and it makes you wonder if they say or think the same thing or apply the same standard to their own doctors when it comes to treatment. But then there has has also been some very offensive stuff which has really crossed the line.”

The open letter, which is accompanied by a petition on Change.org, asks the government to replace contact rugby in schools with a touch version. It is the most concerted campaign yet for radical change to protect young players from concussion.

The RFU has responded by saying that rugby for young people in England took different forms, both contact and non-contact. It said: “The RFU takes player safety extremely seriously and this is at the core of all the training of coaches, referees, medics and the players themselves, at all levels of the game.

“Rugby is a fantastic sport for children, bringing many physical and social benefits, including increased confidence, self-esteem and self-discipline, and enjoyable physical exercise as part of a team. Teachers constantly comment on off-pitch behaviour improvements when rugby is introduced in school.”