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Erin Molan: Haters gonna hate

Rugby League commentator and television presenter, Erin Molan. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Expert
20th August, 2014
120
11325 Reads

To Erin Molan, a piece of advice – haters gonna hate. But that doesn’t make this situation any easier.

Some of you may have missed this story, so here’s a quick recap.

Molan had been appearing in a regular segment on the Kyle and Jackie O Show called ‘Let’s get to know Erin’.

On Friday 1st August, Erin decided that she would no longer be appearing on the show following questions from viewers wondering whether she had had a boob job, and how many cricketers she had ‘been with’.

She was then told by Kyle Sandilands that “nobody was listening” to her on The Footy Show and that her family were “probably coke-heads”.

I would like to take this opportunity to ask Kyle Sandilands whether he has had a penis enlargement? Is this appropriate in any context?

The interview in its entirety is not to be blamed on Sandilands.

Listeners submitted the aforementioned questions, and quite frankly I am surprised and disgusted that the producers of the show let these questions through.

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However, Sandilands was part of the interview, continued a line of questioning and a series of comments which were inappropriate and then needed to be told by Jackie O that enough was enough.

Interviews like this suggest that, despite the plethora of talented women we have in our game, we still have a very long way to go before women are taken seriously as sport commentators.

As a female rugby league fan, I have been inspired by a series of women this year who contribute to our sport.

Names like Raelene Castle, Catharine Lumby, Debbie Spillane, Linda Burney and Kasey Badger are inspirational.

Through their work and commitment to sport and rugby league, they are showing the tremendous talent women have and the contribution women can make to sport.

Similarly, Dave Smith has taken a strong stance and the NRL has announced a whole series of reforms aimed at increasing the level of female participation in our game, most notably that each club must have a female on its board.

Despite all this, I am still, at times, disappointed with the way women are undermined and their credibility questioned simply because, in the case of rugby league, ‘they have never laced up a pair of football boots’.

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We need to support women involved in sport.

We need to recognise their contribution and work towards making sport an environment which is inclusive and accessible to females.

There is tremendous female talent out there, however, when women see other women being undermined based on their gender, it discourages participation with the game at any level.

We need to make it clear that interviews like this are not ok and that the views expressed by Kyle Sandilands and a couple of dim-witted listeners are not the view of the Australian public.

Finally, I just want to acknowledge all the women out there who are involved in sport, particularly rugby league.

I am proud of your contribution and grateful to see so many female role models paving the way for the next generation of female athletes, commentators, administrators, CEOs and referees.

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