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The Secret Footballer does not speak for me

4th April, 2014
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4th April, 2014
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Last month, journalist Natalie Barr wrote that she had never experienced sexism throughout her professional career, and that women should “stop blaming men for their troubles”, as the headline read.

In response, Barr was criticised for assuming that her experiences were representative of the entire female workforce, despite extensive research and anecdotal evidence to the contrary.

In the same manner, I don’t think the latest article by The Age‘s Secret Footballer should be considered representative of the attitudes of all footballers.

Many people will say that there are enough anecdotal reports that footballers treat women like nothing other than ‘spoils’, and that the accompanying police reports are proof of this. There is, however, no academic research to suggest that AFL footballers are more likely to perpetrate sexual violence than other men in our community.

“The truth is that not so long ago AFL players were hardly shrinking violets in these matters either. Group sex was all the go among AFL players – even as recently as five or six years ago, before the social media revolution took hold.”

In saying that, the attitudes displayed in that article are nothing short of atrocious, for both the inherent disregard for the women referred to, and for the fact that men who display those attitudes are more likely than other men to perpetrate sexual violence.

Yet, nothing in my time in the AFL suggests that these attitudes are systemic within the culture of AFL football. Maybe, however, my experiences aren’t representative either.

There is no doubt that there are many men throughout our community, as well as within the AFL, who would agree with the sentiment portrayed within this article; that women’s bodies are a prize to be collected. I know it exists, but I’ve been confronted with this thinking far more in my time in community level football than in all my time in the AFL.

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These attitudes and behaviours don’t exist within a bubble called the AFL. They are a problem of men, not just of elite footballers.

“But for me, it just never worked. Yet some players found it particularly easy to strike up a conversation with girls at a nightclub and later suggest they go somewhere more ‘convenient’.
Early on in that process, with a teammate lingering around, an introduction was made and the topic was soon broached of the three leaving the club together. I should say the women were always willing participants in the fun; no one was being coerced to do anything they didn’t want to. Sometimes they were even the instigators.”

The Secret Footballer was adamant that the reason for ‘cultural change’ came not from the biannual education programs delivered by the AFL, but from the fear of being caught doing the wrong thing. This point raises what has been an ongoing debate in my head for a long time now regarding cultural change; does the ends justify the means?

While I would much prefer this player to have said ‘that our behaviour has changed thanks to the education we have received. We now see women as our equals, whose bodies should be respected and that we should see them as a person, not as a prize’, the reality is that not all people are going to respond to moral arguments. Not everyone will change their behaviour because it is the ‘right’ thing to do.

This is the reason we have laws as compliance, to alter the behaviour of those who decide not to adhere to community standards and to provide mechanisms for redress when broken.

How many people wear seatbelts so they don’t get a fine? Or how many people don’t drink and drive so as to not lose their license, despite the proven safety risks associated with each? I would suggest most. So of course compliance plays a part in, if not cultural change, then at least, behavioural change (though some will argue there’s no difference, as behaviours represent culture).

It pains me to say it, but it would be naive to expect that all players will change their behaviour due to the moral reasons put forward to them in a formal education session. So, despite attitudes not necessarily having changed within the Secret Footballer (and his teammates, apparently), does the fact that there has been a change of behaviour indicate some level of success?

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I honestly don’t have an answer to that question, as I go around in circles trying to come to a conclusion. What is clear though is that despite the many public and private education sessions delivered by the AFL and others, more work is required to address ongoing sexism and attitudes of male superiority and entitlement throughout all aspects of our community, including sports. The prevalence of violence against women around Australia is proof of that.

While the Secret Footballer’s attitudes and experiences aren’t representative of mine, obviously, neither are my experiences representative of his.

I don’t know who the Secret Footballer is, the club that he plays for or his motivations for speaking out in such a way.

I do, however, resent the way that he speaks on behalf of all players, painting them to be the small minded, sexist jerks that the stereotype suggests. I know that many players would have read that article on Tuesday and been incredibly disappointed by it. Not because he let the ‘secret world’ of the AFL in to the open, but because he does not speak for them.

Luke Ablett is a former AFL player and premiership winner with the Sydney Swans. He is currently studying a Masters of Gender and Development and is a lover of good music, coffee and books. You can follow him on Twitter @Luke_Ablett This article was first published here.

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