Members of the Australian Wallabies rugby team (Image: AAP/Dean Lewins)

There is a growing trend of athletes speaking up about controversial sponsorship deals, with the latest resulting in mining magnate Gina Rinehart reversing a $15 million Netball Australia sponsorship deal after players raised Hancock Prospecting’s track record on Indigenous issues.

Crikey took a look at sponsorships for key national sporting bodies and found fossil fuels and gambling companies featured heavily.

Netball Australia gets big money from Origin Energy, while Cricket Australia prefers Alinta and Bet365. Rugby Australia sticks with Santos. The men’s Wallabies have also got backing from Bet365. However, no big betting backing for the women’s Wallaroos. The men’s rugby AU 7s are clean (on a dirty money metric), but Santos still features in the women’s side. In the NRL, it’s Ampol and Sportsbet that continue to show up on jerseys.

The unspoken rule that “politics” has no place in sport is starting to slip as athletes are speaking out about the ethical implications of big money backing sporting institutions.

David Pocock, a former Wallabies captain and now an independent senator, said sport has a long history of “courageous athletes” willing to use their platforms to “stand up for what’s right”.

“It takes a lot of courage for anyone to tell their employer they disagree, even more when those views are likely to become the subject of national debate,” Pocock told Crikey.

“We hear people saying politics and sport shouldn’t mix, but it seems that’s only when athletes have a view. We’re very happy to let politicians make use of sport. And to let sponsors use sport for their own political advantage.”

In netball, Indigenous player Donnell Wallam said no to Hancock, given a 1984 TV interview in which Rinehart’s late father, Lang Hancock, went on the record to talk about sterilisation and termination of Indigenous people through contaminated water.

In cricket, Australian Test captain Pat Cummins last week raised issues with fossil fuel advertising, refusing to further endorse the multimillion-dollar partnership with energy giant Alinta.

In AFL, opposition is coming from fans too. A group of prominent Fremantle supporters sent an open letter to the club urging it to terminate a partnership with fossil fuel company Woodside Energy.

Pocock said athletes took their responsibility as role models seriously when it comes to issues like climate change.

“We shouldn’t silence their voices, especially when they’re asked to be human billboards.”