Samoan international Josh Aloiai has revealed his family received death threats over the role he played in the Sea Eagles pride jersey saga.
Aloiai was one of seven Sea Eagles players who refused to wear a pride jersey in Round 20 against the Roosters.
The 26-year-old has spoken at length for the first time about how the controversy impacted him and his family.
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“(We received) death threats, my family got threats, I got threats about my son,” Aloiai told Channel Nine.
“You should never be put in a situation where your religious views or cultural views and beliefs conflict with your job.
“Our atheist boys, for Easter round, (if) we wanted to wear a Christian jersey and they weren’t comfortable in doing that… it’s all the same – I will support them.
“We still have nothing but respect for people that choose to live that way of life.
“We personally don’t want to live that way or endorse it but, at the same time, we quietly took our stance and didn’t say anything hateful or hurtful.
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“Instead we were the ones that were called everything under the sun.”
Aloiai said his gay sister accepted his viewpoint to not wear the jersey.
“Me and her (have a tight relationship) and she knows that I love her to bits,” Aloiai said.
“Throughout all this happening, we did have a chat and she totally understood where I was coming from.
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“She rang me up and was like: ‘How are you going? You all right? It’s so crazy the way the media has blown this out of proportion’.”
The club’s chairman Scott Penn revealed that the club will wear a similar themed jersey in 2023, however the New Zealand-born forward insists his decision will stay the same.
“The short answer is no, I won’t,” Aloiai revealed.
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“We didn’t compromise this year and we won’t compromise next year or the year after.
“A difference of opinion is not a difference of respect.”
