Moral police? Too sensitive? Sorry, but jokes about sexual assault are never OK

What were the Giants players thinking?

That’s the basic question anyone with even vague knowledge of what occurred at the club’s strange Wacky Wednesday function is asking.

The AFL had to act when the investigation revealed footage of a couple of skits most people would consider troubling.

Their decision to impose suspensions has upset the club and the players who are arguing a fine is more appropriate.

The players also argue that due process is not being followed in determining such sanctions and the system needs to change so that they have representation and penalties are not applied without an accompanying rationale.

That’s all fine. Argue away. Players should be allowed to provide context and push the AFL to improve their processes if they think that’s warranted.

But no one should think for a second the AFL is not entitled to consider sanctions for the individuals or the club, and apply them without apology.

These are professional male footballers who represent the game, their club, sponsors and fans. They are paid well, educated on a range of issues from performance enhancing drugs to stoppages to media training to gender-based violence to help them make good decisions.

They are in a club with a men’s and women’s football team and a netball team.

In this case, those involved made bad decision after bad decision.

To hold a party with a “controversial couples” theme, with dress-ups and skits, is inviting trouble. This time some of those involved charged over the boundaries of good taste in the perhaps naive, probably reckless, definitely inconsiderate, hope it would all stay in-house.

It didn’t, and what footage captured on CCTV revealed, according to industry sources who are aware of what happened but want to remain anonymous due to the investigation being under way, was not good.

Even if the whole intent of the function was to offend, the thought process that led to a skit relating to the allegations made in Jarryd Hayne’s rape case – he was convicted of rape and sentenced to a prison term in 2023 before the conviction was quashed on appeal and the charges formally dropped – involving a player and a blow-up doll … well, there was no thought process.

That’s not to get on a high horse or act as though bad-taste jokes don’t happen around our nearest and dearest, but sexual assault isn’t a topic anyone should joke about. Most people, if they actually considered what they were doing, would not think the subject funny.

Our Watch chief executive Patty Kinnersly knows we are in the middle of a national crisis of violence against women and that attitudes matter. She delivered training to the Giants in May.

“We are not across the detail of what is alleged to have taken place, but any kind of behaviours including jokes that are sexist or about sexual violence are not harmless,” Kinnersly said.

“They normalise harmful attitudes toward women, minimise violence and reinforce harmful stereotypes. They contribute to a culture where violence against women is accepted and thrives.

“We would encourage those players who instigated or witnessed the behaviour to reflect on the equality and respect training they received earlier this year from Our Watch and consider how they can apply that to both their professional and private lives.

“We would like to commend the AFL and GWS Giants on their investigations and response, and encourage them to continue their work in embedding equality and respect into their workplaces. Their actions show the cultural change and progress that has taken place within the AFL leadership, where respect for women and each other is prioritised.”

Some raise arguments that the AFL is overreaching to investigate what happens in a private setting. Those arguments are meaningless and poorly considered.

Each incident is assessed on its merits regardless of the location, and people with a public profile who represent others are held to a high standard, fairly or not. AFL players have fun all over the place without doing anything offensive, as do workers at all sorts of work functions.

It’s easy to label the AFL as the moral police and lament that offence is taken too easily, but most of us reach a point where we are mature enough to know the difference between a joke and a cultural fail.

The Giants are a good club, but this function was a stupid idea that had danger signs all over it. The club admitted in a statement that “some of the allegations are distressing and entirely contrary to the club’s values and policies”.

The players will learn from it as long as they understand why sanctions are required and not get drawn into believing the “you can’t do anything nowadays” narrative.

Who knows what the right penalty is? It is relevant for a football club, but for the person observing from afar it’s more important that action is taken to remind everyone this behaviour is not OK.

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