Could Erin Phillips be the first sportswoman honoured with a statue at Adelaide Oval?
Well-known philanthropist Basil Sellers – who has donated eight of the nine statues that surround Adelaide Oval – reveals he’s had requests to build an Erin Phillips statue. So, will he do it?
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Renowned philanthropist Basil Sellers – the businessman who funded the creation of eight statues of SA’s football and cricket icons in and around Adelaide Oval – has revealed he’s had requests to build a statue of Crows AFLW champion Erin Phillips.
But he says he can’t because under his current criteria, Phillips wouldn’t be eligible for a statue until at least five years after she’s retired.
Mr Sellers spoke to The Advertiser following columns by former Australian netballer Natalie von Bertouch, calling for a female athlete to be commemorated in bronze at the state’s sporting mecca.
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The calls come as women’s sport enjoys a surge in popularity, participation and pay deals, including the landmark announcement by Football Federation Australia that the men’s and women’s representative teams will earn the same pay.
Of the nine statues that have been built in and around Adelaide Oval – including of footballers Malcolm Blight and Barrie Robran and cricketers George Giffen and Clem Hill – none are sportswomen.
Mr Sellers said: “I have had a number of politicians and people writing to me asking about putting up (a statue of) Erin Phillips.”
But Mr Sellers revealed that each of the current statues – which stand on land owned by the Oval’s Stadium Management Authority – fit exactly the same criteria, however, Phillips does not because she is still playing the game.
Mr Sellers said the first criteria that athletes needed to meet to be immortalised as a statue under his criteria was that they were household names.
“They must be a true icon, in the sense that you can walk onto a bus and talk to someone and they’ll know who Malcolm Blight is,” he said.
“Secondly, they had to be all South Australians. Sir Donald Bradman wasn’t really a South Australian he was from NSW, so he had to have played on the Adelaide Oval … Adelaide Oval is hosting these sculptures, so there’s not much point putting someone who’s not played there.
“(Thirdly) they had to be impeccable in their character and that can only be decided once they’ve actually stopped playing and they had to be retired for at least five years.
“It can’t be anybody who is currently playing.”
Mr Sellers said as an example, a statue of cyclist Lance Armstrong would have had to be pulled down once revelations of his doping were discovered.
“(The Oval) can have stands named after people, but they get torn down and names changed, but you can’t change the sculptures, they’re the ultimate accolade, so when you put them up, you have to be sure that they’re the right people,” he said.
“I have had a number of politicians and people writing to me asking about putting up Erin Phillips while she’s still playing, so she’s out of the equation for the time being.
“We’ll have to wait at least five years after she retires.”
Asked whether in time it would be possible to see a sportswoman statue around Adelaide Oval Mr Sellers said: “Oh, absolutely”.
“In fact, will there be another man again till someone comes along and meets the criteria? Bit difficult to see in the short-term.
“They have to be special and we’ve sited them some distance apart; Barrie is a long way from Malcolm, is a long way from Russell (Ebert), and on the other side, you’ve got Ken Farmer.
“What you don’t want to have is sculptures springing up and then devalues the real icons that we’ve put there.”
A spokesperson for the SMA said: “We’re fortunate to host a number of existing sculptures at Adelaide Oval, each of which represent a very significant investment and were made possible through the extraordinary generosity of a private philanthropist.
“We currently have not received any formal approaches from any clubs, bodies or individuals wishing to erect other sculptures here.
“Having said that, we would absolutely welcome the opportunity to consider further hosting opportunities should they arise.”
Mr Sellers – who has also funded 11 statues at the Sydney Cricket Ground – said he was sure that in time the right female candidate for a statue would arise for Adelaide Oval.
“It’s only in the last few years that women cricketers and women footballers have actually finished up being national celebrities,” he said.
“Eventually when Erin retires and five years after that we might sit down and say, right, she was a sound, upstanding person who represented her sport, or sports in this case, with great distinction and great honour and she might be the first female sculpture around the Adelaide Oval.”