Female Captains (L-R) Aimée Legault of Canada, Judith Stein of USA and Shanell Dargen of Australia pose for a photo during the 2011 AFL International Cup Launch at Luna Park, Sydney. Slattery Images.
Is there any matter – sporting or otherwise – that Jeff Kennett does not have an opinion on? If ever an editor is light on for copy, he or she need only put a call through to the Hawthorn Football Club President and within seconds be sure Kennett will provide tomorrow’s headline.
The phrase “thought, not spoken” seems to never apply where Kennett is involved.
Last night on Channel Seven’s Sunday Night program, Kennett outlined his belief that one day a woman could play in the AFL. Kennett’s comments were coupled with the stories of several impressive young women who play high level rugby and Australian Rules Football.
The chasm that exists between the amount of exposure given to men’s and women’s sport was highlighted, and viewers were asked to contemplate whether a woman would ever grace the field of an AFL match as a player.
At the risk of stating the obvious, there are significant anatomical and physiological differences between men and women that greatly affect the ability of the respective sexes to perform athletic feats.
Men are stronger, bigger and quicker than women. For this reason, women will never be able to compete against men in elite sports where success is largely dependent on size, strength or speed.
Plain and simple.
This is not to say that some women who are highly trained or athletically gifted will not be quicker, faster or stronger than some (or even most) men. But at the pointy end of elite sport, the gap between the physical attributes of elite men and women is far too great for women to bridge.
Therefore, the idea that a woman will one day earn a spot on an AFL team on merit is completely ridiculous.
The suggestion that there is a “glass ceiling that needs to be shattered” which prevents women competing against men in elite level sport, as stated by the Sunday Night program, serves only to perpetuate the idea that men’s sport is superior to women’s sport.
I’ve always thought that men’s and women’s sport sat in parallel, separated along gender lines alone.
Removing the prism of Australia’s football codes and considering the issue of women competing against men in the broader sporting sense, it is a genuine shame that the surest way of gaining coverage for women’s sport is for a sportswoman to announce that she will be entering a competition against men. Women’s sport deserves greater media coverage and greater exposure, but this is not the way to achieve it.
Each time an elite sportswoman has competed against men in a sport which is largely dependent on strength or speed, the outcome is much the same. Golfer Michelle Wie’s experience is typical of what occurs when elite sportswomen compete against men in a sport where physical strength is a significant advantage.
In 2005 Wie announced her desire to win the US Masters and began competing against men in her chosen sport of golf. In each of the tournaments she entered, Wie failed to make the cut. In one event she missed the cut by a massive fourteen shots.
This sort of publicity does nothing to promote women’s sport.
In fact, it serves only to promote the incorrect view that women’s sport is inferior to men’s sport.
Rather than draw attention to the obvious physical superiority of men by attempting to compete against them, elite sportswomen would be better served by highlighting the differences between the men’s and women’s games in promoting women’s sport.
For instance, it can be argued that women’s tennis is a better spectacle than men’s tennis, owing to the greater emphasis placed on skill and tactics in the women’s game when compared to the men’s game. Whereas men’s tennis is dominated by power hitting and pounding aces down the service T, women’s tennis showcases greater skills and tactical nous in winning points, which – it can be argued – makes it a much better spectacle than men’s tennis.
Highlighting the immense talent and skill shown by many sportswomen might be more beneficial in promoting women’s sport than trying to compete directly against men.
Women’s sport deserves better coverage and publicity. However, suggesting that women are capable of competing directly against men does nothing to further the cause of women in sport.
Follow Michael Filosi on Twitter @michaelfilosi
amazonfan
Roar Guru
I understand.
dasilva
Guest
Fair enough In all honesty, my comments is directed to the idea of women competing against men somehow undermines women's sport just because women ended up getting inferior result to the men which Filosi implied rather than a defence of Wie specifically.
amazonfan
Roar Guru
They do, however there is a massive difference. Michelle Wie, and her sponsors, made a big deal out of her competing with the men. That's all fine and well, however she didn't qualify. If she wants the fame (or notoriety) for competing with the men, and the dollars that come with it, she needs to do what the *men do, and qualify. She wants the fame and fortune, but she doesn't want to do the dirty work. That's annoying, and I can understand the criticism that she received. *The men who don't qualify and who receive sponsors exemptions don't gain fame (or notoriety) from competing with the (other) men. Rather they are generally established stars, who would have qualified for events back in their younger days, or perhaps of a certain nationality, who would still need to qualify for other events.
dasilva
Guest
Fair enough with the sponsor exemption. Although I do believe that male golfer receive sponsors exemptions as well.
dasilva
Guest
Regarding Wie participating in the PGA tour "This sort of publicity does nothing to promote women’s sport. In fact, it serves only to promote the incorrect view that women’s sport is inferior to men’s sport." He was criticising her for participating in the PGA tour.
Bayman
Guest
Brad, Actually, in Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, they do share Victoria's love of the game. Aussie Rules has always been played in New South Wales and Queensland (and the ACT) and now there are two AFL teams in those "rugby" states so, yep, people in NSW and Qld also share the love of the game (Rorza, maybe this is why AFL is the national football code?). Perhaps you and Rorza could explain how it is possible for Wayne Carey, John Longmire, the Danihers, the McVeighs, Lenny Hayes, Mark McClure, Geoff Kingston (SANFL but All-Australian, 1961), among several others, could get to the top in AFL but come out of NSW. I now live in Sydney and everyone I know has heard of the Swans and GWS, watches the Swans (and soon the GWS) and talks about the Swans with some authority even if they also follow league and union. Clearly, you would be amazed at how many kids play Aussie Rules in Sydney. Ten years ago the Paul Kelly Cup (he was a Swans player) was the largest organised school sporting event in primary schools. St. Iggy's, a famous rugby school, now has an AFL team. I watch the NRL and happily follow the Tigers and have done for 25 years. I also follow the fortunes of Randwick in the other rugby code and have done for more than 25 years. Clearly, however, AFL is now the dominant football code in Australia and has been for decades - and they did it without any women playing the game but lots of Canetoads and Cockroaches.
Bayman
Guest
Brad, You clearly didn't play enough Aussie Rules or, maybe, just pulled out of the contests when it was your turn. Either way, you simply have no idea but, despite that, we on the Roar welcome your opinion. By way of education, you may want to catch up with the hit Matthew Lloyd delivered to the Hawthorn player in the last round of last year. Or watch what happened to Jonathan Brown this year. Or go back to the famous hit by Stan Magro on Jezza in the 70s or a thousand others since then. When was the last time a rugby player, of either persuasion, actually got really hurt in a tackle? A few bumps and bruises, sure, but I mean really smashed. No, I can't think of one either. If they do get hurt - in league - it's usually caused by the gutless freak who comes in late and takes the guy high while he's already wrapped up, Strong stuff, that. You guys always forget that most league tackles carry very little momentum in to the contest. Maybe the full back bringing the ball back from a kick. But the famous forward clashes usually involve a guy running about three metres and not very quickly at that. There's a lot of tackles in league but very few of them actually involve serious pain and virtually none without that third guy arriving late and high. When was the last time a rugby (league) player was carried off unconcscious? And to remain on track for the article, NO, women could not compete with men in AFL. Not on their best day. There's ahuge difference between a girl playing under 9s and doing well and the same girl playing against the same boys ten years later. A huge difference. By then, the boys have got taller and the girl's bum has got wider. Just saying!
amazonfan
Roar Guru
The problem with Wie is that she received sponsors exemptions. There wouldn't have been as much controversy if she had actually qualified.
amazonfan
Roar Guru
If a woman plays in the AFL, one would have to assume she is pretty tough, so I don't think that going soft on her will be an issue. The male players will treat her like any other player, and as for the fans, they will do so as well. "And what if a female player was in the early stages of pregnancy and didn’t know it, copped a shirtfront and lost her baby?" That could happen in women-only sports as well. In the WNBA, if a player shoved an opposition player and she fell down; if she was in the early stages of pregnancy, she could lose her baby. Ultimately I don't like these arguments. Women are more than capable of looking after themselves, and they know the risks of playing in contact sports. They shouldn't be infantilized.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
brad when you say you've played all three - forget about juniors, school comps or even the Sydney comp - when you're talking about AFL level, you are talking about a very fast, physical game, something the administrators are very keen to downplay because they don't want to scare parents off. If you want to explore the ins and outs of both games, I'm happy to do that, but to be honest, it bores me to tears going through these same old dicussions.
stabpass
Guest
Actually i dont mind womens tennis, i would rather see a womens baseline rally , than a barrage of aces from the men. But IMO the top ranked women would struggle against the 500th ranked male, reflexes, power, strength, ball touch and court agility etc are all much better with male than female tennis players. The only female tenis player i have seen lately who could match and beat the men for touch and volleying is Justine Henin, who is a fantastic player, but is just not powerful enough, in fact she has the best touch of a female tennis player i have seen.
stabpass
Guest
Surely you can do better, 3 identical very silly posts.
stabpass
Guest
Yes his statement shows his level of intelligence so no further comment is needed.
dasilva the question wasn't whether women can compete against men because obviously they can. Anyone can compete against anyone but the difference is in the success or win rate. As you pointed out Michelle Wie is a prime example and if she wishes to play against the men then good luck to her. Another good example I would give, right here in Oz, is the female jockey T. Rodder who has ridden home some very nice winners for me. But these sports are not contact sports.
Agreed. There are some very good female jockeys and I have no hesitation what so ever about putting my money on a horse ridden by a woman. This is one of the sports where the women can compete and even excel but it is not a contact sport. The original story was about AFL but has sidetracked to all sports.
brad
Guest
Their delusional. All they see in the Melbourne papers is AFL so they think the rest of the country shares their love of the game. AFL also includes any kid that participates in an Auzkick session as a regular player which inflates their participation figures. Where as other games use figures of kids that actually play the game week in week out. Makes a big difference but then again AFL is the king of spin.
brad
Guest
"The enormous physical pounding that the average AFL players body takes" Thats a joke right? You AFL supporters need to realise that while your players can run a long way and have immense endurance it just isn't a very physical game. Yes I've played the game and League and Union. If there was to be a game that women could play alongside men it would be Soccer and then also AFL. As long as they had the required fitness levels and speed I can't see why there would be a problem. The article didn't say they have to be the Australia's best player, it just says that women could play at the top level, that's definitely achievable.
Bayman
Guest
Richard, I'm not sure sailing is a reasonable comparison for the equality of men and women in sport. In sailing, the decision making may be important but then it's the boat that does the work. A woman may well compete successfully with men on the water, in a boat, but on a football field it's really no contest. Not big enough, not quick enough, not good enough. Apart form that - no problems! In most sports which are played by men and women the contests are separated for a reason. Cathy Freeman who stole the show at the Sydney 2000 Olympics would not have got within earshot of Michael Johnson who won the men's 400 metres. The Williams sisters, for all their dominance in women's tennis, would do well to get a game off Federer, Nadal or Djokovic - or Lleyton Hewitt. Frankly, I have a better chance of being the love child of the Queen than women have of playing AFL football against men. In any sport which requires only a skill level, as opposed to a physical contest, women may possibly compete with men. I'm thinking sailing, ten pin bowling, croquet, knitting. Where, however, strength, speed and physical confrontation is required (e.g. AFL, rugby league and union) the woman are out of their depth. Where skill and application may be required (e.g soccer, cricket) without, necessarily, direst physical confrontation the women still fall short. The intensity of men's sport will always prove too much for women to compete successfully. It's simply the nature of the beast. Anyone who really thinks men and womens sport, particularly at the professional level, is one and the same thing is either deluded or on the sort of stuff which gets you banned in either gender. P.S. Yes, women's tennis bores me sh*tless. Only in women's tennis can the score look like 6-0, 0-6, 6-0. Only in women's tennis are half the players fat little porkers. Ok, I exagerrate, a third of the players.....
john alexander
Guest
So what sport does have good enough tackles for you? Gridiron?