Vile aftermath of Australian men’s netball team’s viral dance moment
A clip of a men’s netball team doing a dance before a game went viral around the world – and woke monsters from the dark corners of the internet.
It was an energetic one-minute dance routine inspired by a blockbuster film franchise before a major international tournament match that was meant to be a bit of fun.
And it was, with the Australian men’s netball team, the Kelpies, nailing their moves to NSYNC’s classic hit Bye Bye Bye on the court at the World FAST5 Championships in Christchurch last October.
A clip of the dance went viral, viewed millions of times across the globe, before finding its way to the darkest parts of the internet.
Kelpies captain and midfielder Liam Forcadilla said it wasn’t until well into the next day that the team realised the overwhelming extent of the vile abuse that had exploded online.
“We had the two games on the Saturday, and we did the dance in the morning, so there wasn’t much time to look on our phones,” Forcadilla told news.com.au
“After, it had been posted by many news outlets and had really gone viral, and there were some really great and positive comments. We saw a few negative ones here and there, but we had that after doing the Nutbush the year before, so we were expecting it.”
The next morning, he and vice-captain Alastair Punshon received a call from their coach who warned them “some pretty disgusting stuff” was being said.
Homophobic slurs, personal attacks, some racism, the odd threat and attacks on their masculinity had flooded the comments sections of Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
A decision was made to avoid their mobile phones and disable social media until the Kelpies took on South Africa later that day.
“It was never about a dance and going viral. We’ve had a job to do and that was to win a gold medal for our country.
“But it wasn’t just about like protecting our space and making sure that we had a job to focus on. It was also the fact that we had a 15-year-old in our team. We had a boy who was 18 who was doing his HSC in between our games. It was about protecting them.”
For a young person, representing your country on the international stage is a big achievement in itself, Forcadilla said, and he wanted to preserve that as much as possible.
“It came from a community that wasn’t our community. It wasn’t the netball community. It was from people that didn’t understand that men’s netball is a thing.”
There was also a clear lack of understanding about what the FAST5 series is, comparable to cricket’s T20 or the Rugby Sevens – what’s dubbed sport-tainment.
“It’s fast and it’s fun,” he explained.
“It’s not like regular netball. The crowd is dressed up. There are feathers, there’s glow-in-the-dark people. Every team does a dance before one of their games.
“Any time that a team was going out there to do a dance, they’d give them a massive cheer and a round of applause. And ours just seemed to be a little bit bigger than everyone else’s.
“I think that’s because we had done a really good job. It looked really good, it was really in sync, mind the pun.”
The impact of the hate and bigotry was deep. So too was the international media attention, which shifted from the positive response to the painfully negative one.
“It definitely got to a point where it was a little bit overwhelming,” Forcadilla admitted.
“It’s something that I wasn’t quite used to. And I think that it was more that I felt like I had a responsibility to do and say the right thing and to educate people on what it is that we do and who we are. And I think that’s the thing that was maybe the heaviest.”
It all blew up around the time Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds’ character Deadpool performed the same dance routine in the latest instalment of the action film franchise.
The acerbic hardened hero and the leading man playing him are perhaps the epitome of manliness and masculinity, making the vicious and aggressive reaction to the Kelpies something of an irony.
“It was really interesting to see how it did get spun into this issue of what masculinity is and the roles that men play.
“I think maybe because there’s not a lot of queer representation in sport, it did look a bit threatening to what some people’s ideals are of what a man in sport is supposed to be.
“It’s not even just queer athletes that are breaking down barriers. I think the straight guys in our team are challenging gender norms by playing a traditionally female sport as well. They go through their own battles of having to justify their position in the game.”
Forcadilla said his message to the haters was to educate themselves on the thing they’re attacking.
Watching the Kelpies play is a remarkable experience, he said, with their impressive fitness and skill on full display.
“I’d love for them to come down and watch a game. I guarantee you will be impressed by our athleticism, how we interpret netball, and we will show you that it’s not just a game for women, it’s a game for men as well.
“I encourage you to attend a Fast5 tournament because it’s a whole lot of fun and again, we’ll challenge your views on what sport is. It’s an amazing spectacle and it’s an amazing community to be a part of.”
Forcadilla came to play professional men’s netball entirely by accident when he was 19, he was heavily involved in competitive basketball and joined a mixed socials netball team in his off-season.
“Someone from Men’s Netball NSW saw me playing and asked if I wanted to play in the state team. I thought I’d give it a shot and I fell in love with the sport, but also with the community, from day one.”
It came about at a pivotal moment, when Forcadilla was battling mental health challenges while coming to terms with his identity.
“It was linked to me figuring out my sexuality and where I fit in the world. I suffered from a bit of depression and anxiety and had to move home, get on some antidepressants and talk to a psychologist.
“Then I found netball – or it found me – and it was this community that had open arms and accepted me straight away. I didn’t have to pretend I was someone else. I could just stop and be me and I think that taught me a lot about myself.”
His experience with mental health and passion for fitness are why Forcadilla has joined The Push-Up Challenge.
Each year, hundreds of thousands of Australians take up the challenge to complete a set number of push-ups that represent the number of lives lost to suicide in Australia.
Participants are also taught mental health facts and coping strategies, while raising money for charity.
Forcadilla and his fiance Lukas Radovich, former Home and Away star turned film director, are taking part together.
“It was a no-brainer to join The Push-Up Challenge,” he said. “To have a fitness event that is talking about mental health, it just resonated.”
There was a positive to follow the vile pile-on last year, he said.
After the wave of negativity, there was a flood of people fighting back against it and championing the Kelpies, sending love and support their way.
There were even a few sporting greats offering their encouragement, including cricketing legend Adam Gilchrist, who shared the video on his Instagram and urged the team to keep going.
“That was quite overwhelming in itself. We’re in a fledgling era of our game. Not a lot of people know that men’s netball exists, even though it’s been around for 40 years. It’s only been in the last three years that we’ve started to get a bit of a public presence.”
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At the end of the day, Forcadilla said the Kelpies will keep their eyes on the ball and continue striving for sporting greatness.
The rest of it doesn’t matter.
“If people have opinions, they’re entitled to. I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing.”
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