Perth Wildcat Corey Webster has been handed a two-game ban by the National Basketball Association’s Integrity unit over homophobic comments he made on social media.
“Basketball Australia’s integrity unit found Webster breached the Basketball Australia Code of Conduct for Elite-Level Participants pertaining to discrimination and vilification following a comment he made on social media.” the sporting body said in a statement.
The star player already sat out a pre-season game this week, and the second game ban has been suspended, so Webster will now be able to return to the lineup before the official season begins.
On Sunday night Webster responded to a post on social media that showed an image of the Pride Progress flag and asked people “What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you see this flag?”.
Webster to responded with “mental illness”, but later deleted the comment. After the media asked questions about his comment the club issued an apology.
Basketball Australia said in reaching their decision, they noted the remorse shown by Webster, and his commitment to undertake diversity and inclusion training, as well as a donation to charitable organisations.
Perth’s LGBTIQA+ basketball team the Perth Spectres say while they acknowledge Webster’s apology, comments made by the sporting heroes that people look up to can be significant, particularly for players who may be struggling with their sexuality or gender identity.
ABC TV sports presenter Tom Wildie suggested the best course of action for Webster would be to delete all his social media accounts.
“He would be wise I think to close all of his social media accounts and probably throw his smart phone in the bin.” Wildie said on Drive with Jo Trilling on ABC Perth.
In their nightly satirical take on the day’s news Up Late with Ben Harvey, The West Australian shared some of Taylor’s previous tweets including claims that the government manipulates the weather through “cloud seeding”, and a false claim that the Pfizer vaccine for Covid kills almost as many people as the virus.
OIP Staff
Do you need some support?
If you are struggling with anxiety or depression, support and counselling are available from:
QLife: 1800 184 527 / qlife.org.au (Webchat 3pm – midnight)
QLife are a counselling and referral service for LGBTQIA+ people.
DISCHARGED: info@discharged.asn.au / discharged.asn.au
Discharged is a trans-led support service with peer support groups for trans and gender diverse folks.
Lifeline: 13 11 14 / lifeline.org.au
Beyondblue: 1300 22 4636 / www.beyondblue.org.au
You can support our work by subscribing to our Patreon
or contributing to our GoFundMe campaign.
