Pathetic chant by a group of young idiots.

However, Mr Thomas, don't be such a soft sh-te is what i've got to say!!

I tell my kids to ignore name calling yet a 6 foot odd 16 stone rugby player gets upset???


Toughen up Mr Thomas, there will ALWAYS be idiots in whatever walk of life, willing to do the name calling.

In fairness he probably didnt run to the press to tell tales, he will have been asked about it im sure, probably by a journalist who heard it

Was it a gang of Christian hoteliers that were doing the chanting?

The problem with the chanting is bigger than the personal homophoebic angle unfortunately.
It reflects badly on the Rugby League community and the Castleford club particularly.

As Thomas says in the article.....well big deal, he already knew he was gay. He didn't need them to tell him. I'm sure the opinions of those in the crowd chanting really won't affect him in the long run. What will affect him is that maybe more people think that way, and that he has joined a sport of bigots. He is a high profile player who's opinion matters. The fact that there is an article about him in the Times proves that.

In the same way we should/and have jumped on racist chanting at sporting events, we should stop this one too. It's not a matter of Thomas being tough enough or not, it's a matter of right and wrong.

and right and wrong in this case isn't so much the opinion as the effects.

For Castleford, I'm sure the fans there are no worse than any other club. The club have done a lot of work on making the sport an inclusive and enjoyable environment to being friends and family, when that has been questioned in recent months.
Yet the people chanting have just put the spot-light on all the bad things and given those that want to put the club and the sport down all the ammunition they need.
The issues at the Catalan game are still being discussed at RFL HQ and the media. Castleford are still paying good money to try and catch/identify these people, yet now a group of fans have done something to make everybody focus on them again.
Is the Castleford crowd full of thugs and bigots? Of course not. Have a few idiots made it look like that to those that only choose to see the down side or don't know and just follow what is said in the press? Unfortunately so.

I'm sure the "fans" if asked would say they were just having a laugh, but the damage they cause the club by these kinds of actions are immense and either makes them:
1) Not real fans and just trouble causers
2) Not intelligent enough to understand the consequences of their actions

I assume it is the second but unfortunately that makes it even harder to rectify.

At a time when the off field stuff, like stadiums and crowds, are seem to be very important to the franchise system, I'd be very careful about the profile of the club in the media.

Well, that gimp on the radio appears to look right doesn't she.

While I don't condone it sometimes I think the worlds gone a bit mad, I mean, so what a couple of people start a chant and now all of Castleford should be ashamed? I've heard worse in every walk of life.

What should have happened was a quick boo from other fans followed by 'does your mother know you're here?' chant, would have been a witty way to keep that quiet.

Oh, and Dally, this is the second time in a week you've been a looong way behind the news, keep up son.

Is anyone surprised it was Cas fans, though.. seriously?

Brilliant

And very pertinent!!

Unfortunately some stuff like this goes on at all grounds and at the minute it feels like it is begining to sound like soccer at some games.

We have some C**** who chant we hate leeds when we are not ven playing them.

When my cousin joined in i told him to stop or he would be walking home.

rather than ignore them when they start the objectionable chants everyone should join in booing until they shut up.

As for those who say iot is part of the game, or that the players should ignore it they are as THICK as the Union Trolls.

If you want that attitude FO and watch soccer.

RL to me is about fans mixing, women and kids being able to watch games without constant bad language and obscene chanting, treating players with respect. If we start to lose any of this we are on the slippery slope to segregation, violence, and quite probably the death of our sport. Because if we go down the route of soccer i will want nothing to do with RL. many others would also agree i am sure.

''For evil to succeed only requires that good men stand by''.

Idiot

Why don't you just pi55 off.