The real problem with the Jack Watts video

The footy player might not be snorting an illegal substance in the notorious video, but if his club thinks that means everything’s fine, they’re kidding themselves, writes Victoria Hannaford.

Oh great.

Now that Port Adelaide officials have let us all know that the Jack Watts video showing him snorting a white, powdery substance is “not cocaine”, and his manager Paul Connors has said it “isn’t what people think”, we can all rest easy.

The club has clearly decided there’s nothing remotely odd or off-putting about a footy player — once considered an AFL star draft pick — publicly sniffing a white substance off a woman’s breasts.

According to Port Adelaide’s statement they have “spoken to Watts about the content within the video” confirmed with him the white powder is a legal substance — a peppermint mix called “Wiesn Pulver” consisting of menthol, sugar and glucose.

The statement goes on to say Watts “has informed the club that the video was taken at Oktoberfest in Munich last October” and Port Adelaide “will not be making any further comment at this stage”. It seems that for Port Power at least, that’s the end of the matter.

RELATED: Jack Watts seen snorting white powder in video of him simulating taking drugs

Jack Watts snorting a white substance off a woman's breast.

Watts has told his club Port Power that it’s a legal substance called “Wiesn Pulver”.

But let’s not be coy here, it hardly matters whether the substance Watts is snorting is legal or not.

Watts, who was traded from the Melbourne Demons to Port Power in 2017, is mimicking the act of taking drugs, in way that’s instantly recognisable to adult fans of footy. It’s obvious what he’s simulating, and it’s something he should have been cognisant of, particularly in the public setting the video depicts.

The video has also spread like wildfire on social media, exposing it to an audience of teens and younger kids, no doubt raising many questions in young minds about what’s going on in the short clip. They may not be aware of the fact that it’s a legal substance; without that context, all they can see is someone snorting a white powder. It hardly needs to be pointed out that Watts behaviour sets an incredibly poor example to young fans of footy, especially from a player who was the No. 1 draft pick in 2008.

Jack Watts was traded to Port Adelaide in 2017 from the Demons. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty

Not to mention that the AFL, a game intent on cultivating “Respect and Responsibility” in its community, and has set a priority of educating its players about how to “build and maintain social relationships with women that are healthy and respectful” has glossed over the fact that a player was snorting powder off a woman’s breasts in public.

It’s the kind of scene you’d expect to see in The Wolf of Wall Street, and that’s because that kind of behaviour was last considered cool in the 1980s. Snorting substances off a woman’s body depicts a regressive attitude at best. (For what it’s worth, while the woman in the video appears to be a willing participant, she’s also shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders in a manner that suggests she’s not entirely impressed with the whole episode either.)

And to the outside viewer, especially a younger audience, it’s dehumanising behaviour — the woman is reduced to a body part that exists for Watts’ hijinks. The focus is on her breasts and the salacious surface area they provide, and the fact that this is happening in what appears to be a public area of a bar, and being filmed, is an extraordinary display of arrogance and entitlement — and indicates the AFL might need to work a little harder on its current education commitments aimed at “shifting attitudes” about behaviour that “degrades women”.

So yes, while the white powdery substance Watts is snorting might be nothing more than peppermint powder, it beggars belief that his club thinks that’s the only issue presented by this video.

Because if that’s the case, Port Power and Watts are in denial about the problems they really need to tackle.

Victoria Hannaford is a writer and producer for RendezView.

@vhannaford