Stop the negativity and support our women. They deserve it
HOW many men can put in their resumes what the women playing in the AFLW competition can, asks Stacey Lee. These multi-tasking ladies deserve respect.
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AN AFL premiership winning coach signs on the dotted line to lead the team for another year. Headline news, right?
If it was a man — yes. But it’s a woman — so, no.
Bec Goddard has committed to coach the AFLW Premiership Crows team for 2018.
Now, I’m usually a one-eyed Port supporter (sorry, not sorry) but in this instance I’m willing to set that aside and admit — I’m stoked for the Crows. This woman is seriously impressive.
Not only did she lead the Crows to a six-point win against the Brisbane Lions in the inaugural AFLW Grand Final just a few months ago but she also works FULL TIME for the Australian Federal Police. She’s in the anti-child exploitation unit — arresting paedophiles and fighting against the online spread of child porn.
She holds down a full-time job and during the footy season leads the team at training at least three times a week. How many men can put that on their resume?
The AFLW competition received a lot of negative attention. Graham Cornes said that women playing football did not look right. Gary Lyons took a dig at the Crows captain, Erin Phillips, for taking her two babies onto the ground after her team won the grand final. And countless commentators have called the game “scrappy” and “low scoring”. The players have been labelled as “lacking in skills” and others have said the league is “nowhere near the level” that the men’s competition is.
IT’S THE FIRST SEASON. Give it a chance. Let’s stop with the negativity and tall poppy syndrome and support our women.
I’d love to see how “clean” the men’s AFL was in its inaugural year back in 1896. They’ve had 121 years to get to the level they are. The female players have had one.
Recently I “played” a game of social footy. I use the term “played” very loosely because I was probably more of a hindrance out on the field than a help.
I never would’ve considered signing up for the charity match if I hadn’t seen the AFLW competition. I, like most others, just thought of footy as a men’s sport. But it’s that deeply entrenched perception, that most of us have, which needs to change.
Granted, the game of footy I played was a charity match with rules that had been adjusted to suit. And thank god they were — my lack of skills was mainly laughed off but it was a great time.
I’m now considering signing up to play social footy — and that’s a big deal for someone like me who’s allergic to most forms of exercise.
I have a full-time job and I found it hard to juggle that and going to training once or twice a week for a charity footy match. I take my hat off to the AFLW players who do it on a much more intensive and professional level than I. Some of them have families too — Erin Phillips has twins.
Most mums struggle to balance a full-time job and home life. During the AFLW season some of the Crows players managed to maintain both of those things and win a flag. What an achievement.
I could go into detail about every one of the women on the Crows AFLW team and their own individual stories about how hard they’ve worked and trained to get where they are. The prejudices they’ve come up against and the sexism they’ve encountered. But it wouldn’t matter. People are going to think what they want to think about AFLW.
The only way we are going to change their views is by proving to them that the competition is a success and the only way that can happen is if we give it a chance.
So before you judge the women on the field and make a remark about how it “just doesn’t look right” or how they “aren’t as good as the men” maybe take a second to stop and give it a chance.
Stacey Lee is Adelaide Reporter for Sky News on Foxtel Channel 601.
Originally published as Stop the negativity and support our women. They deserve it
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