Rita Panahi: Let’s talk about the genuine AFL scandal

It says something about the “integrity” standards of the AFL that Jeremy Finlayson’s offence is considered far more grievous than a player who breaks the law by obtaining and using a banned substance.

Just how much longer can the football world minimise a genuine drug scandal – likened by the founding president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Dick Pound, to that of the Soviets and East Germans in the 70s and 80s – yet whip up hysteria about a homophobic slur?

Port Adelaide’s Jeremy Finlayson has copped a barrage of invective from the footy media after making an ugly homophobic comment against an Essendon player.

Despite his admission, contrition and apology, he has copped a hefty three-week suspension, but even that is not enough to satisfy the activists whom the AFL and its clubs pander to incessantly.

LGBTQIA activist Angie Greene wanted a six-week ban, likening the slur, “f----t”, to the n-word. “Sadly, I think the punishment is super predictable in the way it reflects how the AFL and society in general treat casual homophobia,” she said.

Jeremy Finlayson has issued an apology for the homophobic slur. Picture: PAFC

If the AFL, the activists and the football media were serious about taking a stand against genuine homophobia and systematic oppression, they would demand that the Sydney Swans cut ties with their official airline partner, Qatar Airways, the state-owned airline of a country where homosexuality is a crime punishable by jail, beatings and in some cases death.

That would actually mean something.

But it’s easier to pile on a player who in the heat of the game made a stupid mistake, apologised for it, but has not been spared days of abuse, including from those who pretend to care about the welfare and mental health of players.

It says something about the absurd priorities and “integrity” standards of the AFL that Finlayson’s offence is considered far more grievous than a player who breaks the law by obtaining and using a banned substance, then dodges the WADA code by pre-testing and faking injury.

Rita Panahi is a Herald Sun columnist