AFLW veteran Alicia Eva shuts down vile online abuse

GWS Giants AFLW co-captain Alicia Eva has opened up about how she copes with hate and abuse projected onto female players.

GWS Giants AFLW co-captain Alicia Eva, star of the new Disney Plus’ docu-series Fearless: The Inside Story of The AFLW, has opened up about how she copes with hate and abuse projected onto female players, particularly in light of the documentary release.

A TikTok video posted the week of the series‘ debut highlighted the streaming service’s promotional poster for the new project with hundreds of comments underneath.

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To paint a picture of the general theme of these comments, among those posted included “are there shower scenes,” “do they have OnlyFans,” “how brave woman took on the challenge of making an exciting sport boring,” “hope it is a higher quality than the game itself” and “sorry lades, AFLW is so bad it’s unwatchable.”

At the AFLW’s inaugural Sydney Derby event, celebrating the first Sydney Swans vs GWS Giants game set to be held at the SCG on Saturday, veteran of women’s footy, Eva detailed how she felt about the behaviour of others online.

“I personally don’t even bother looking at the comments,” the footy veteran told news.com.au.

“I think the biggest critics of this and what we do, don’t watch it, they don’t know the stories of players, they don’t know a lot of the struggle that’s going on behind the scenes just to be given the opportunity.

“So for me, I don’t really pay attention to it, but I know some players do and I think that’s probably an area that we need to be mindful of as well.”

When asked whether throughout her seven years in the professional space, she had developed, learnt or wished there were more tactics to address this kind of vulgar behaviour online, Eva said there were certainly ways to deal with the negativity she had put into practise.

“This is not unique to AFLW players but a lot of athletes get told what they should and shouldn’t post on social media, but I don’t know if there’s a lot coming back in terms of how athletes and individuals deal with what they do see and how that might affect their mental health, or yeah how they go to work each day,” she said.

“Social media is a part of our life now so we have to develop tools and ways of dealing with what comes back.”

Maddy Collier of the Swans and Alicia Eva of the Giants. Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The GWS Giants have twelve listed team members aged 20 or below with some, if not most, new “public figures” under scrutiny.

The Giants skipper said she attempts to share tips and tricks from her personal experience in the space, with the side’s youngsters and debutants, for example turning comments off posts.

“I think having great self awareness is really key to this and 18-year-olds may not have necessarily developed that so it is a bit of a learning process,” Eva said.

“It’s a learning process and not just for young girls, young boys go through it too, they go from being a 17-year-old in school to having a public profile. Part of that is just part of being an athlete but there are certain safeguards you can put into place to make sure that you’re thriving.”

In light of R U OK DAY today, the 31-year-old midfielder provided advice for dealing with hate, mental health struggles and life challenges, which she shares with teammates.

“If you do see something online that has bothered you or affected you, don’t be alone in that, talk to someone, we’ve all got shared experiences, we’ve got tips and tricks where we can help to safeguard yourself or help you come back to whose opinions really matter,” she said.

“That’s something that I’ve been really big about and talking about, is having a bit of an A team around you, a coach, a friend, someone who can actually give you critical advice you need whether or not it is the advice you want, but it comes from a good place and the intention is to make you a better person.”

The AFLW star said through sharing the “amazing stories of the AFLW cohort” viewers can have a greater understanding of the game, becoming more invested and passionate about the work of the women and men involved.

“What would be great to see, and I guess that’s why Fearless has been fantastic, is an experience where people can watch and learn some of the stories of the athletes outside of just what they do on the field and celebrate the diversity of the AFLW cohort and build it from there,” Eva said.

“It definitely comes from visibility.

“The more we can celebrate and visibility demonstrate the achievements of these women, the better.”

Originally published as AFLW veteran Alicia Eva shuts down vile online abuse