Ruby Tui has been praised for deciding to not participate in the first Weet-Bix collector cards dedicated to the Black Ferns.
For the first time, our women's rugby stars will feature on the iconic Weet-Bix Stat Attack collector cards, but Tui has refused to be a part of it, reportedly because NZ Rugby wouldn't allow her card to feature the rainbow flag.
The game's governing body has told Newshub that's not the case, and that it simply hasn't had enough time to consider her request.
"To have a change, we would feel that we would need to consult with all of the players," NZR president Dame Patsy Reddy told Newshub.
"We couldn't do something for one without the others... There simply wasn't time, before those cards were being printed."
NZ Rugby has committed to Pride Pledge and is not ruling out allowing rainbow flags in the future.
"We'd certainly consider a request in the future, for future years, if the players requested so," said Dame Patsy.
Owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Weet-Bix is not a supporter of Pride Pledge, but NZ Rugby told Newshub that Sanitarium also didn't have enough time to make a decision.
Sport inclusivity advocate Craig Watson says Tui has done the right thing.
"Being someone with a platform, it's important to take a stand when you need to," he told Newshub.
"She's taken a stand and said, 'If you can't accept all of me or you can't accept this part of me, then you can't have any of me'.
"I think she's made the right call."
Last month, Tui re-signed for two more seasons with NZ Rugby, but contract negotiations dragged on for months.
In an interview with Sky's Breakdown, the rugby star made her position clear.
"I, for one, won't accept lip service," said Tui. "I think it goes to show I'm staying and it's for a reason, because there's been some changes made."
That change perhaps isn't happening fast enough for women's rugby's brightest star.
