Cairns Taipans coach Adam Forde has urged his players to exercise their 'freedom of choice', after it emerged some were reluctant to wear the to wear the NBL's Pride Round logo on their singlets due to their religious beliefs.

As part of the inaugural Pride Round, the logo of kit manufacturer Champion at the top of the singlets will feature the rainbow colours. The same logo will be displayed on courts across the league.

Earlier this week, News Corp reported some of the players will wear a singlet without the pride logo when the Taipans travel south to face the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Wednesday. 

And while Forde praised the NBL's initiative, he also backed his players' right to refuse to wear the special kit if it made them uncomfortable.

'It’s a great initiative by the NBL,' he told the Cairns Post.

'We’re about inclusion and freedom of choice – live and let live.

'This is the beauty of what the message is, everybody has freedom of choice that they can be comfortable with themselves and not be segregated or excluded because of it.'

The NBL launched its first Pride Round on Monday, four months after it league first floated the concept to clubs and players during its pre-season round tournament in Darwin. 

The league made clear the players would be free to choose whether they wanted to wear the Pride logo or not. 

'We acknowledge, at times, there will be challenges with various stances we take as an organisation and they may conflict with some people’s beliefs,' NBL commissioner Jeremy Loeliger said.

'Regardless, we will continue to work together to support each other, and we will always respect that people may have different views, opinions and values to ours.'

He added: 'Basketball is for everyone and […] we will do all we can to ensure the NBL is a community where everyone is welcomed and supported, and individuals are encouraged to be themselves without fear of discrimination or judgement. 

'Pride Round is a way for us to acknowledge and thank the LGBTQ community.' 

News of the Taipans players' reluctance to wear the rainbow logo comes six months after Manly sparked enormous controversy when it unveiled a Pride jersey to celebrate diversity and inclusivity in the NRL. 

The jumper featured Rainbow colours replacing the traditional white piping on the maroon background, making Manly the first NRL club to wear a pride jersey in rugby league's 134-year history. 

But far from being a unifying force, the jersey split Sea Eagles players and fans and the entire rugby league community.

Seven Manly players who chose to boycott the Round 20 clash against the Sydney Roosters rather than wear the rainbow jersey introduced by the club. 

Josh Aloiai, Jason Saab, Christian Tuipulotu, Josh Schuster, Haumole Olakau'atu and Tolutau Koula sat out the game against the Roosters.

Former Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler was initially supportive of the Pride jersey, but was reportedly not asked for permission or consent for his players to wear it. 

The club subsequently admitted it had not informed the players prior to unveiling the rainbow jersey. 

Hasler reportedly told the players he understood they were put in a difficult decision and supported their decision not to play. 

The fallout from the incident derailed the Sea Eagles' campaign, with Manly losing all their seven games following the Pride jersey fiasco to record their worst-ever end to an NRL season.

Forde, however, was adamant Pride Round will not prove to be a distraction.

'It’s not a distraction at all, we knew it was something coming up,' he explained. 

'We had an information session with Pride In Sport about a month ago so we were able to get a lot of information about things I didn’t know about that I now know.

'We saw people give accounts and stories of how it impacts them.'

After their trip to Melbourne, the second-placed Taipans face the Brisbane Bullets and the Adelaide 36ers at home.