NO
CHARGES have been laid and the two Collingwood players questioned by
police deny any wrongdoing, but a shadow has been cast over the
Magpies' premiership win. If charges are laid, it may turn out that the
accused are found not guilty. Nonetheless, when the story broke on
Monday morning, something was lost from the Collingwood celebrations.
That
night on the television news, I saw a Collingwood woman aged about 70
asked her opinion. She had what I would call an old Collingwood face.
She probably went to Victoria Park as a girl with her father to watch
the Magpies play. She's probably raised a brood of Collingwood
supporters who have since had children of their own, most of whom wear
the black and white. She'd probably say the club is part of her family
life and now this had happened.
"It's
disappointing," she said. She wasn't being sentimental. She was, in the
old Australian working class way, being understated. A woman friend of
mine described her as looking "bruised".
Advertisement: Story continues below
The relationship between AFL players and the
young women who surround them is more complex than public discussion of
the issues admits. Ask women who work at AFL clubs. Nonetheless, if I
could send a message to AFL players, it would be this: the next time
you run out on to the ground to play in a big match, have a look
around. Half the crowd are women. The next time you are knocked down
unfairly or denied a free kick or take a brave mark, listen to the roar
of support that comes your way and thrills you to your bones. Half the
voices are women.
Some years ago, a Dutchman
writing a book on the great sporting events of the world interviewed me
about the AFL grand final. In Europe, he said, the percentage of women
at premier league soccer matches was 13 per cent. In the AFL, the
figure was 48 per cent. He wanted to know why. Perhaps the reason is
that our game started as free entertainment in the parks. No one could
be excluded. Men and women stood side by side, as did people of
different classes and religions.
Women are not an
addendum to the game, they are part of the game. I actually believe
they're a vital part but this may be a tribal view. Celtic women walked
among their menfolk before battle, rallying them with their cries. I
sat in front of Danny Green's wife at the weigh-in before he fought
Anthony Mundine the first time. I heard her call to him several times -
a brave, rousing, loving cry. I heard no fear in her voice; I'm sure he
heard it, too. It's also worth noting that, right now, women's football
is booming as never before.
Last year, when I was
embedded with Melbourne Football Club, I was time and again impressed
by its women supporters. I hazard to suggest women transmit excitement
more openly than men and that excitement is a large part of the fun of
the game. I know some spirited Collingwood women, such as writer Jeana
Vithoulkas. In the early 1990s, when you still had to be brave to do
such things, she took on a section of her own supporters for directing
racist abuse at West Coast's Chris Lewis.
The
problem when the issue of the relationship between AFL footballers and
young women flares into public view is that it invariably descends into
generalisations and stereotypes. As I said before, I am interested in
the opinion of women who work at AFL clubs. Most are not free to
express their views but one of their number, former Richmond media
manager Jude Donnelly, is writing a book for Melbourne University Press.
Donnelly
came to Richmond from her job as a media and policy adviser to the
Howard government. She is an exuberant person with a handsome turn of
phrase. I knew I liked her when I saw her step in and shoo away a
commercial television crew who tried to film a young recruit's tattooed
belly.
She was of the view that it could fix a
certain image on the young man for the rest of his career. The young
man's father thanked her, the players, coach and chief executive
supported her. That's how you build a football club - through shared
beliefs.
AFL players are taught to have regard for
their teammates and their clubs. What they need to understand is that
their clubs are not exclusively male. In the present case, there is the
allegation of a crime which is not only against an individual woman but
is an insult to women generally. And look at what that has done to
Collingwood.
Martin Flanagan is a senior writer.