How homophobic fans ruined footy for AFLW star Mo Hope
AFLW star forward Moana Hope has opened up about copping abusive taunts from fans and says she hasn’t been to an AFL match in three years after a frightening on-field experience while playing for Collingwood in 2017.
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Moana Hope says it’s time to stamp out homophobia in football, revealing she hasn’t attended an AFL match in three years.
Star forward Hope, who played AFLW for the Magpies and Kangaroos, has detailed how abusive taunts from fans have left her frightened and triggered bouts of anxiety.
Describing one attack while she was playing for Collingwood against Fremantle in 2017, Hope said a fan followed her from behind the fence, calling her a “stupid dyke”.
In another incident, which prompted her to stop going to watch matches, a fan sitting near Hope at a 2017 Richmond-Collingwood match repeatedly yelled “faggot” at Dustin Martin.
She and her wife Isabella Carlstrom were also constantly targeted with sexual gibes whenever they went out in public, she said.
Describing the Tigers-Pies incident, she said: “I was supporting Collingwood and it was a cracking game with Dusty (Martin) killing it as he does.
“I was there with Belle and there was a guy with his mate in the crowd, kids all around him, and Dusty kicked this freak goal over his head and this guy stands up and starts yelling that he’s a faggot and all these other unnecessary things, but the No.1 go-to for him and his mate was to call him a faggot.
“You could see the kids around them, questioning and looking at him and even laughing. That is never acceptable.
“I got embarrassed about being there and we left and I said ‘I can’t do that’, because I got anxiety they were using those words.”
Hope said the game Round 2 game in 2017 was the last time she went to an AFL match.
She will return if the homophobia is stamped out.
“I love the fact the AFL last year started knuckling down on it and kicking people out,’’ Hope said.
“We should be coming together. Yes, be passionate and cheer, and if someone misses a goal say ‘ha you missed’, but not ‘you’re a faggot, you’re a gay bastard’. It happens every single game.
“The more society changes, the more comfortable and more confidence I get.
“I want to go to all games and when I have kids I want to go but I don’t want to take them if I have to explain why the guy beside me is yelling out the word faggot.
“It’s just not acceptable and you never know what people are going through. I just don’t agree with anything that’s negative or hurtful.
“We’re all humans, we have red blood, who we fall in love with has nothing to do with these names. This is why kids in school are scared to be who they are whether they are gay or not, because you get picked on if you’re different.”
Hope said when she played Fremantle in Perth in 2017 she felt scared after copping abuse.
“It was a close game and there was this guy behind the goals who called me a stupid dyke,’’ she said.
“I don’t normally hear the crowd because I’m so drawn in on the game, but when I heard that I was blown away.
“And I was hurt and a little bit scared to be honest because I thought, ‘why are you calling me that, I’m a person’.
“And why are you using such a negative term. The game ended and I was a little bit scared, hesitant, to walk off the field because I was worried he’d be there to abuse me.
“He was there to harass me before the game and that was his No.1 aim.”
The abuse was not limited to the football arena, she said.
Hope said even as a contestant on Survivor: All Stars, she was being labelled a “quiet, dyke lesbian” on social media.
She married model Carlstrom in August last year and said they were targets just walking down the street.
“The amount of times we’ve been sexually victimised because of our sexual orientation, I’ve lost count,’’ she said.
“I’ve had things said to us like, ‘one night with me will make you realise you need a man in your life’.
“I’ve been there when guys have grabbed Bella’s arse and said ‘you need an actual man’. Those things happen all the time.
“We walk down the street and get looked up and down and I’ve just had enough.
“It’s really crap where we’re at as a society.”
ABUSE RIFE IN PUBLIC
New research has found nearly 80 per cent of LGBTIQ+ Australians have been victims of hurtful, homophobic or transphobic language.
The survey commissioned by ANZ also found more than two thirds had been called a derogatory name such as “faggot”, “dyke” or “tranny” in the past 12 months.
Despite this, only 41 per cent of heterosexual Australians believe hurtful, homophobic or transphobic language towards the LGBTIQ+ community is a major issue today.
A partner of Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, ANZ has launched educational tools including #LoveSpeech, which aims to raise awareness of the negative impact this language has on the LGBTIQ+ community.
The film features LGBTIQ+ community members sharing experiences being victimised by derogatory language.
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AFLW player Moana Hope has been joined by actor and trans advocate Georgie Stone OAM, social commentator Benjamin Law and Angie Greene, chief executive of Stand Up Events and ally of the LGBTIQ+ community in supporting the campaign.
Mardi Gras chief Albert Kruger said: “Hurtful language can have a negative impact on the lives of LGBTIQ+ people, and that’s why ANZ has launched this powerful and insightful #LoveSpeech campaign, spreading beautiful messages of support for our community.”
Hope said it was an overdue conversation that needed to be had. “It’s affected me in certain parts of my life and affects me on a daily basis to be honest,” she said. “As soon as ANZ reached out, I said ‘100 per cent, let’s do it’.”