The Federation apologizes to the Maori players

Paul Roget, Media 365: Posted on Tuesday 12th April 2022 at 11:17 AM

After a report was published criticizing the treatment of Maori players inside the black fern, the New Zealand Football Association has officially apologized.

Five-time world champion (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2017), the New Zealanders will attempt to win their sixth title on home soil next fall. But less than six months before the start of the World Cup, which has been postponed for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the black fern is at the center of a major controversy.. In question, the treatment is within the choice of the Maori or Pacific Islander players, who represent 75% of the team. It all started with a post published in December by the prostitute Te Kura Ngata-Eriengamat, after the European tour. After being disqualified from a third Test against the Blues, the 33-year-old had a mental breakdown, before being left alone for several hours in a hotel room.

“Playing guitar only” is selected

The victim of a “nervous breakdown”, she had suffered degrading comments from her coach, Glenn Moore. The latter would have told her that she was “not worthy of being chosen” and that she was chosen “just to play the guitar”. Then a report was published criticizing the management of the women’s team, which was amended by the New Zealand Football Association on Monday. “This report confirms that we haven’t done everything right and we apologize for not providing all the tools necessary for our teams’ success,” said federation chief executive Mark Robinson. In this report, we also know that these criticisms of Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate are shared by many players of Maori or Pacific Islander descent, who have not spoken out for fear of not being picked. Patron of WIRA (Women in Rugby Aotearoa, which means New Zealand in Maori), Traci Houpapa considered this phenomenon to be nothing new, and that other players had suffered from it in recent decades.