‘Furious’: Netball erupts over Queensland Firebirds’ decision to cut pregnant star

A star goal shooter has claimed she wasn’t offered a new contract by the Queensland Firebirds because she is pregnant, sparking outrage.

Romelda Aiken-George hasn't been re-signed by the Firebirds.

Australian netball greats have slammed the Queensland Firebirds after star goal shooter Romelda Aiken-George said she wasn’t offered a new contract because she is pregnant.

Aiken-George signed on for a 15th season with the Firebirds last year but announced on the eve of the Super Netball season she was expecting her first child.

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That opened the door for mature-aged rookie Donnell Wallam to start in round one and play the season as the Firebirds’ goal shooter.

Aiken-George and husband Daniel George are expecting their first child together in the next month, but the 33-year-old posted on social media on Monday that she had been told by the Firebirds her return to the court next year after giving birth was “too risky”.

“Okay, so a lot of people has been asking if I’ll be playing for the firebirds next season, the answer is “NO”,” she wrote in an Instagram story.

“And that decision was not made by me, it was by the club. “Too risky they say”.

“So I will not be in the FIREBIRDS next season.”

The Firebirds released a statement on Monday, saying it was “aware of commentary” surrounding Aiken-George’s post.

“This senior playing list is determined over months of scrutiny by our List Management Committee made up of the CEO, COO, GM of High Performance, Head Coach, coaching staff and Head of Elite Development,’’ the statement said.

Romelda Aiken-George has not been re-signed by the Queensland Firebirds. (Photo by Regi Varghese/Getty Images)

The Firebirds have been slammed. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

“Gretel Bueta, Donnell Wallam and Mia Stower (two Australian Diamonds players and one consistent long-range shooter) developed a strong and proven combination during the 2022 Suncorp Super Netball season.’’

The statement added Aiken-George was one of several longstanding players recognised at the club’s awards night on the weekend.

The Firebirds later released a second statement, denying Romelda-Aiken’s pregnancy was behind the decision not to offer her a contract.

“In the face of some still implying that the Firebirds club makes list management decisions based on anything other than high-performance related factors, the club unequivocally denies that Romelda Aitken-George was not offered a contract in the ten because she is pregnant,” it read.

“The Firebirds have developed a strong club culture over many seasons that embraces and supports life decisions of players, and suggestions that the club operates otherwise is not fair on the current and former playing group and management.”

The Firebirds have been widely slammed for the decision to cut Aiken-George.

Former Australian Diamond Kim Green tweeted: “If this is the full story … it is not good enough from @FirebirdsQld.

“Romelda has made that club what it is today and has almost single-handedly won premierships for that club.

“What a way to support a loyal player, who was 1000% poached by EVERY club in the world!”

Natalie Medhurst, another ex-Diamond and former teammate of Aiken-George, said she was furious at the decision and called on Netball Australia to introduce contractual certainty and security for netballers returning from parental leave, similar to the conditions Cricket Australia brought in for female cricketers.

“I’m furious, absolutely furious,’’ she told CODE Sports.

“And sadly, it doesn’t surprise me, either, and I’m sick of saying that, but some of the things our sport does to its female athletes just continually keep happening, and they’re not right, but it’s sort of become, ‘No surprises. Here we go again’.

Romelda Aiken-George is expecting her first child with husband Daniel George. Picture: Richard Walker

“Netball just needs to do a lot more. Netball Australia keeps on trying to say that we’re the premier female sport, yet we don’t actually properly support our female athletes, because one of the things of being a female is that a lot of us have babies, but you become a liability most of the time by doing it.

“To think that then ends your career, at what should be one of the happiest and most exciting times of your life … You would assume it might be pretty hard for Romelda to now get a contract anywhere, and for me it just doesn’t seem right.

“The club has said, ‘It’s too risky’, but based on what? Have they spoken to someone medical? But how can you foresee eight months down the track when the season starts that it’s too risky for her to play? It just doesn’t make any sense for me, and I would have thought that any club would have been pretty happy to have a Romelda, even as a 10th player on their line-up.’

“I guess my question is around, ‘Well, what conversations have they had with Romelda? What was their thought process?’. Because I think she would happily have taken a minimum wage contract just to have the opportunity to play again after having a child.”

The Firebirds’ 2022 Super Netball team featured three mothers — star goal attack Gretel Bueta, centre Kim Ravaillon and England defender Eboni Usoro-Brown, who has since departed the club.