Kerre Woodham: You cannot lead a team haka if you don't speak for your team

Gregor Paul's story in this morning's Herald confirms what many suspected at the time: that TJ Perenara’s political statement before the haka, a rallying cry against the Treaty Principles Bill, had not been sanctioned by rugby officials. That many All Blacks, that many coaching staff, that many management, felt blindsided by the statement and that he spoke without the universal approval of his teammates, according to Gregor Paul’s story.  

Perenara was playing his 89th and his final test for the All Blacks in Turin last year, and before the privilege of leading the All Blacks Haka for the final time, he gave a mihi speaking for the land, the strength of independence and the Treaty. Not the most strident political message, but a political message nonetheless. And I have absolutely no problem with people having an opinion on the Treaty Principles Bill —a strong opinion— provided the opinion is sound and nuanced and not filled with hateful, abusive language. You have your opinion for and against it – absolutely fine.  

But I do think that TJ Perenara abused his position and abused the trust put in him by his teammates. You cannot lead a team haka if you don't speak for your team. If TJ had been representing New Zealand as an individual, fine. If he gave his opinion on the bill in a post-match interview, fine. But it's a shame that he put his teammates in a position of defending a political stance of his own. They might all agree with him, they might have fully supported his decision in the wording of the mihi, but he never gave them the chance to do so, according to Gregor Paul’s story. And if you cannot have a full, honest, open discussion about the Treaty Principles Bill with the band of brothers that is the All Blacks, what hope does the rest of the country bloody have?  

I think it's because if you support David Seymour's bill you run the risk of being called a racist. For the record, I don't support. I made a submission against it, but that doesn't mean I support the hijacking of the haka either.  

Although I'm not sure in this day and age the coalition of the perpetually aggrieved allows you to have a nuanced viewpoint. You can't have a ‘oh well, I think this, but I understand where you're coming from, but that's okay’. You just can't do that in this day and age among a certain group of people. Discussions quickly become partisan and reductive. Social media has become so binary – you're either for us or you're against us. The only thing that cohort seems to agree can be nonbinary and fluid is gender. Everything else you have to be one thing or the other, except for your gender. You certainly can't have fluid or nuanced discussions on race or Trump or Gaza or the Treaty Principles Bill. It's a shame.  

Perenara is passionate and committed and articulate but clearly on certain subject he feels his way is the only way. And isn't that the problem with the world right now? 

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