Olympic gold medallist Libby Trickett slams Marty Sheargold over women’s sport outburst

A former champion Olympic swimmer has slammed former Triple M host Marty Sheargold’s comments on women’s sport and is pleading for change.

• Shock new Marty rant emerges

Four-time Olympic gold medalist Libby Trickett has slammed former Triple M host Marty Sheargold’s comments on women’s sport as “hurtful, misogynistic, and sexist”.

Sheargold on Monday unloaded on women’s sport and the Matildas on his Triple M show, saying he would “rather hammer a nail through the head of my ***** than watch that”.

He then asked colleague Will Ralston, who was covering the team’s poor results, if he’s “got any men’s sport?”.

Sheargold, 53, and Triple M have since parted ways after the radio veteran’s on-air outburst degrading female athletes.

In an interview with Matt Shirvington on Sunrise, Trickett, 40, described the remarks as “incredibly wrong”.

“It’s so important to know that this is incredibly wrong,” Trickett told Sunrise.

“These comments are hurtful and misogynistic and sexist.”

Trickett said she was angered by the remarks and said that society has “a way to go” in terms of how women’s sport is perceived.

“I was angry initially and then I started to process that and then I realised that, you know, we still have a ways to go in terms of how we perceive the opinions that people have that are just entrenched in their thought patterns around women’s sport,” she said.

Libby Trickett says Sheargold’s comments were out of line. Picture: Tara Croser

Trickett went onto add while the Matildas are not protected from criticism - with Sheargold’s remarks made during a sport bulletin that mentioned Australia’s defeat to the US, the team’s second loss in the SheBelieves Cup - there is an appropriate way to do so.

“The Matildas aren’t without reproach, we can criticise that, we can say they’re not doing a good job, that’s a completely different thing,” Trickett said.

“But what these comments were, were not that.

“This was like ‘oh, get the women off, let’s put men’s sport back on’.”

While acknowledging that Sheargold had apologised to the Matildas and Football Australia, one-time Olympic sprinter Shirvington said he should apologise to millions of fans that watched the Matilda’s magic run to the semi-final in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

“You know what peeves me the most about this is the apology?,” he said.

Marty Sheargold has parted ways with Triple M.

“So he made an apology to the Matildas and the broader organisation, I’m sorry, but every kid that bought sold out merchandise in 2023 cheering on the Matildas, that went and watched games, the 11 million people that watched on television, he needs to apologise to them.”

Fellow Olympic Australian swimmer Cate Campbell also criticised the repulsive outburst made by Sheargold, slamming the comments as “unacceptable”.

“Women have been fighting for generations to be seen as equals in sport,” Campbell told the Today show.

“We deserve better. We need more recognition. I feel really, really strongly that these comments are unacceptable.”
Australian hockey player Rosie Malone also slammed the comments made by Sheargold.

“I honestly don’t know what is wrong with the world,” Malone posted to TikTok.

“All I could think about was the young girls sitting in the car with their parents, maybe on the way to or from their own training sessions hearing this.

“I’m sure many of them would have been hurt and confused …. I was in disbelief.

“This is apparently acceptable on mainstream afternoon radio??? HOW??”

Sheargold also came under fire for remarks claiming that “endometriosis is made up” and women were faking that illness.