AFL’s first female commentator under fire

 
glocko87 Roar Rookie

By glocko87, 29 Jul 2009 glocko87 is a Roar Rookie

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Channel Ten commentator Kelli Underwood must have known that taking a seat in the box on game day would cause a stir. As the first female to commentate an AFL game on television, she was likely to be scrutinised closely.

How objective that scrutiny may be is questionable. In a move as controversial as this, debate is always going to be heated and not without bias.

One look at the Channel Ten forums online shows an overwhelmingly negative response.

Underwood is labelled ‘boring,’ her voice like ‘nails on a chalk board.’ Some even go so far, even in this increasingly politically correct climate, to say that a woman doesn’t belong in the commentary box.

In the interests of being taken seriously, surely this is exactly the type of comment you would avoid.

Consider this: how objective can an opinion of her worth be when her status as the first female in her role in a man’s sport overshadows her actual ability?

Surely any comment made about Underwood is clouded to some extent by her gender, no matter how much you claim to be objective. Either the feminists laud her for her ground-breaking role because she is a woman, or men rubbish her because as a woman her knowledge of the sport will never be as sound as a man’s.

Or you err on the side of caution and follow your opinion with “but it’s not because she’s a woman, I just don’t like her voice, comments, style …”

Each commentator’s ability should be assessed on their knowledge of the game, their ability to perform live, the suitability of their voice for the task and that special X-factor that gives them an edge and makes them interesting to listen to. Personal preferences will no doubt differ on just which of the above criteria is most important.

On match day in my household, my football-literate father is frustrated with too many obvious statements, my mother can’t stand some commentators’ smarmy attempts at humour and my sister just wants the commentators to reel off the players’ names so she can tell who is who.

Unfortunately in Underwood’s case, her gender will interfere with opinions on her ability even from those with the best of intentions, and there is little she can do about it.

No one will ever agree on who makes a good commentator.

Each has their faults and strengths, and have been hired by a network because for the most part, their strengths outweigh their shortcomings, and not just for their gender, whether they are male or female.

One would hope.

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