Anger after man stops former AFLW star to call her fat
An AFLW player has taken to social media to share a story about how she was fat shamed by a man and women are outraged.
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An AFLW star has taken to Instagram to share the offensive question hurled at her by a man who taunted her over her weight while on a run.
Former Adelaide Crows player Sarah Perkins warned her followers of the “rant”, saying she needed to get something off her chest.
“Today while running I was stopped by a man who instead of asking what I was doing decided he would call me fat and ask me why I was running for short amounts,” she wrote.
“I’ve seen plenty of things written about me on social media but today was the first time in a very long time I’ve had someone call me fat to my face.
“I’m proud of myself for being able to deal with it the way I did.”
Perkins said she knew she was a “bigger gal” but she worked hard every day to look and feel better.
“But I am me at the end of the day and am so thankful for the people in my life that look at me and see me,” she wrote.
“It’s nearly 2020 and I hope that one day people just look at others and have nice things to say about them.”
The former Hawthorn player, who announced last month her AFLW journey would not continue in 2020, said she wasn’t putting the post up for attention but to remind people to be kind and think before they spoke.
Women who saw the post took to social media to share their concern.
“This makes me so sad and angry,” wrote one woman on Facebook.
Another wrote: “I honestly don’t understand why people think that they can just comment on another person like that.”
Other women shared their own stories and the importance of being fit.
“Who would dare say something like that to anyone working out, let alone an accomplished athlete,” wrote another woman.
“People are idiots!! Also, there’s plenty of research that says being fit is more important than being skinny. You can be bigger and still be fit!!”
Perkins isn’t the first AFLW to be publicly targeted.
Channel 7 came under fire from fans and stars across the sporting world after removing a picture from its AFL Twitter account due to vile comments from internet trolls.
A picture of Carlton Blues AFLW star Tayla Harris kicking during her side’s final round match against the Western Bulldogs attracted “inappropriate and offensive” comments.
Originally published as Anger after man stops former AFLW star to call her fat