Rugby league player banned for 6 matches over homophobic slur in Australian competition

A professional rugby league player has been suspended for six matches after pleading guilty to making a homophobic comment in Australia's second-tier competition last week. Newcastle Knights forward Asu Kepaoa, who has played 42 National Rugby League matches with West Tigers, was sent off in the Knights’ reserve-grade win over St. George-Illawarra in the New South Wales Cup. Kepaoa’s sanction was announced only weeks after former Sydney Roosters prop Kane Evans became the second male NRL player to come out as gay, and first since the 1990s.