Saint under fire for alleged second homophobic slur in two years<\/a><\/p>\n‘Most challenging cases we’ve seen’ | 01:34<\/p>\n
But the hearing into the use of a derogatory word descended into farce when the reasons for reducing Collard\u2019s nine week ban to four weeks, two of which are suspended, was published featuring this paragraph which defies common sense and is starkly at odds with the current landscape, for good reason.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe observe that football is a hard game. It is highly competitive, particularly at its higher levels,\u201d the piece signed off by Will Houghton KC reads. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is commonplace that players can employ language from time to time which is racist, sexist or homophobic while on the field.\u201d <\/p>\n
Words truly matter, both verbally and in print. They matter on the field, which why Collard was investigated and banned. And they matter in official documentation, which is why so many were reeling when reading the findings on Thursday night.<\/p>\n
It is why executives at AFL headquarters were steaming on Friday. And every single player, in the AFL or the levels below, should be disgusted with the assertion that racism, homophobia and sexism are commonplace.<\/p>\n
There have been breaches, with Crow Izak Rankine a notable recent example, that have been regretful and hurtful, provoked discourse, remorse and opportunities to educate and learn from. But they are very much the exception.<\/p>\n
The vast majority of players have strong moral compasses, convey respect for their teammates and their rivals and would not for a second contemplate using such a slur.<\/p>\n
That an official AFL body would suggest it is commonplace is bewildering to say the least, particularly given the league has worked hard over decades to foster a more inclusive environment.<\/p>\n
There was, as is well canvassed, a murkier time when abuse occurred more regularly and caused significant distress. <\/p>\n
The photograph of Nicky Winmar raising his jumper to expose his stomach in defiance towards a baying mob at Victoria Park just over 33 years ago is symbolic of the time but also of how far footy, and the broader populace, has come.<\/p>\n
The AFL is facing a class action from former Indigenous players led by Winmar and Phil Krakouer for the trauma stemming from instances of racist abuse dating back decades.<\/p>\n
When delivering its defence to the class action last November, which denied responsibility and stated the risks were no broader at the time on-field than in the community, the AFL delivered this mission statement in a press release.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe AFL respects and values all people in our game and is continually working to improve and promote football environments that reflect that respect and maintain standards that are unaccepting of discrimination, in all forms,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
It expressed similar sentiments in response to the appeals board sentence last night but prior to the findings being published.<\/p>\n
Sadly, and rather extraordinarily, in a case involving discriminatory words used by one footballer, the AFL Appeals Board had delivered a reasoning that casts the broader playing group and league into disrepute. <\/p>\n
And that should prompt far more than a few harsh words for those who have exacerbated an already disturbing situation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Opinion At some stage this weekend a footy player, hot under the collar, will fire off a racist…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":627244,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,62648,304026,304023,64,63,689,55,639,36423,3567,304030,104495,12413,304027,12415,3328,304029,677,304022,13833,172435,11403,304025,304024,85,1122,244577,304028,304021,660,38790,3439],"class_list":{"0":"post-627243","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-alleged-homophobic-slur","10":"tag-appeals-board-sentence","11":"tag-appeals-hearing","12":"tag-au","13":"tag-australia","14":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","15":"tag-australian-football-league","16":"tag-australianfootballleague","17":"tag-class-action","18":"tag-courtney-walsh","19":"tag-football-environments","20":"tag-footy-player","21":"tag-homophobic-slur","22":"tag-initial-investigation","23":"tag-lance-collard","24":"tag-mission-statement","25":"tag-moral-compasses","26":"tag-oceania","27":"tag-official-documentation","28":"tag-press-release","29":"tag-racist-abuse","30":"tag-single-player","31":"tag-slur-scandal","32":"tag-sporting-landscape","33":"tag-sports","34":"tag-st-kilda","35":"tag-time-on-field","36":"tag-tribunal-process","37":"tag-troubled-footballer-finds","38":"tag-victoria","39":"tag-victoria-park","40":"tag-western-australia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=627243"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627243\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/627244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=627243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=627243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=627243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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