Rival AFL presidents condemn ‘irresponsible’ comments made by Eddie McGuire and James Brayshaw

DISMAYED rival clubs have hit out at the “irresponsible” comments made by Collingwood’s Eddie McGuire and North Melbourne James Brayshaw.

DISMAYED rival clubs have hit out at the “irresponsible” comments made by Collingwood’s Eddie McGuire and North Melbourne James Brayshaw in which they “joked” about drowning football journalist Caroline Wilson.

Richmond president Peggy O’Neal said sports clubs must use their “privileged position” to stop violence against women.

“We at Richmond have promoted gender equality for many years and it is a key value of our club,” O’Neal told the Herald Sun.

“We are dismayed that anyone in a senior position in an AFL club would make irresponsible comments about women in the football community and fail to see the ‘joke’.

Richmond president Peggy O’Neal has condemned comments made by rival AFL presidents Eddie McGuire and James Brayshaw. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

“The link between gender inequality and domestic violence is well known and all AFL clubs must use their privileged position as elite sporting organisations to stop the violence.”

Western Bulldogs vice-president Susan Alberti told ABC radio on Monday morning she “thought we’d moved on from that era”.

Dogs players and coach Luke Beveridge took the White Ribbon oath — binding them to “stand up, speak out and act to prevent men’s violence against women” — before Saturday night’s White Ribbon clash against Geelong.

“I can’t believe it, what was said about Caroline is totally unacceptable,” Alberti said.

President Peter Gordon later put the clubs’ views to the Herald Sun.

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“The position of the Western Bulldogs Football Club in relation to violence against women was articulated strongly and clearly by our coach and by our players in the oath which they declared before Saturday night’s White Ribbon game,” Gordon said

“We abhor violence against women and will speak out against it as our oath has declared.”

His Melbourne counterpart Glen Bartlett said players, coaches and club officials all “have a responsibility to lead the way” on the issue.

“As a club, we have not only worked very hard as a pioneer of women’s football but also in making sure we involve and respect women’s involvement at all levels of our game,” he said.

Eddie McGuire sparked controversy with jokes about drowning a female football journalist. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

“As a code the AFL does a lot of important work supporting women, including the prevention of domestic violence.

“It is a good reminder for all senior club representatives — directors, coaches and management — of the influence that we can have both positively and negatively in this space.

“We need to be vigilant every step of the way in all of our discussions as leaders in reducing the incidence of domestic violence and the importance of respect towards women.

“That means players, coaches and officials of our game all have a responsibility to lead the way.”

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Sydney chairman Andrew Pridham said: “Any comments that are degrading to women or generally lack respect for any group in society is unacceptable and ultimately undoes a lot of the good work in the AFL on issues such as domestic violence and indigenous issues.”

The Gold Coast Suns took the White Ribbon oath last year.

Suns chairman Tony Cochrane said “the key word is respect.”

“At the Suns we pride ourselves on our work to tackle domestic violence — we have a number of White Ribbon ambassadors within our club and we have a number of community programs that focus on respect and responsibility in the community.

“Last year all of our players, coaches and administration staff stood up and took the pledge to stop violence against women. It is important that we don’t just mouth the words but we all live the words.

“As a part of the AFL community we back any and all measures to stop violence and violent attitudes towards women.”

St Kilda released a statement on Monday strongly rebuking part-time coach Danny Frawley, who also engaged in the discussion with McGuire and Brayshaw about holding Wilson under water.

“The comments were inappropriate, cringe-worthy and could barely be more in contrast with our club values,” the club said in a statement.

“We called Danny as soon as we learned about the comments to express our views and will meet with him during the week to discuss how harmful these comments are.

“Danny has now publicly apologised — and personally called Caroline to apologise — and clearly regrets his comments.”