Rugby league is nothing if not a contradiction. For all of the code's all-too-regular off-field issues, once again the game has seemed like a bastion of cultural acceptance as sport and politics continue their uneasy dalliance.

The moment a postal survey on same-sex marriage was confirmed, it was inevitable the nation's leading athletes and sporting organisations would be called to account. Those that still maintain sport and politics should keep to themselves remain ignorant of history; from the Nazi Olympics in Berlin to Civil Rights in American and Apartheid in South Africa, athletes and the bodies they represent have been front and centre.

Ian Roberts at a marriage equality rally in Sydney in August. Credit:AAP

One by one, they made their position clear. Among the first was the NRL, whose chief executive Todd Greenberg brushed aside the politics of it all and on the urgings of those like Rabbitohs and Manly great Ian Roberts, said the game stood for the 'Yes' campaign.

"The game has a small number of values and one of those values is inclusiveness," Greenberg said. "It's an easy thing to write on the wall but it needs to be demonstrated in actions."