A young girl claimed that she was the victim of verbal abuse by St. Kilda AFL players at Melbourne airport after she asked for a photo for her friend.
It was alleged the players responded to her request by saying they only associate with “hot chicks…there should be no fat chicks (as part of player contracts).”
The St. Kilda Football club quickly acted on the matter after the unidentified girl’s mother wrote in to the club. They gave the girl a jersey and made a donation to the Butterfly Foundation. They also released this statement:
“The St Kilda Football Club can confirm we received a complaint from the mother of a young lady alleging comments were made by the players at Melbourne airport on Friday that upset her daughter. The Club has spoken to the playing group, and while there is some conjecture about the comments, the Club is mindful that sensitivities need to be respected. The family involved have indicated their appreciation for the professional way the St Kilda Football Club has managed the matter.”
But for comments such as these, surely the players in question would have to be suspended or at the very least fined. In a world where bullying is reaching new highs with the internet, respected AFL players have to try and set a good example for young people by deterring this sort of behaviour.
Now, we do not know the full extent of the story as privacies must be protected, but when the girl made comments such as, “Instantly my eyes filled up with tears, body image and how I look is important, so that comment, coming from someone who is in the public eye, made me feel like a monster.”
“Now I think everyone around me is thinking those things,” she said.
In light of these comments, the AFL has to seriously consider its stance on respect for fans.
AFL fans pay their own hard earned cash to fund a sport that produces these local, national and international stars. Essentially, they fund the players’ lifestyle.
Therefore, I do not see the problem with the investors wanting a photo.
This could dent the image of St. Kilda and the AFL, bringing the game into disrepute. Something further has to be done to eradicate this sort of behaviour. The right people have to at least sit with the players and find out the full story, then strongly act on it. This is outright bullying.
With that being said, has the club tried to protect its players a little too much in this instance? For a player to bully a fan, and then have no consequences, what does that say about St. Kilda?
Are they going into damage mode with this to try and avoid more scandals? In a perfect world, the player would be publicly shamed, made to apologise and stood down or fined a chunk of his wages.
But unfortunately, none of this will happen and the wrong message will be sent.
What are your thoughts, Roarers? What should St. Kilda do?
Australian Rules
Guest
not bad
Kasey
Guest
clipper: Remember that old Police advert reminding drivers that every patrol car was now a booze bus? I would have thought that the AFLPA would have drummed it into their charges that every member of the public likely has a smart phone these days and thus every encounter with the public has the potential to be a good or a bad PR experience.
clipper
Guest
Have to agree with you Kasey - these guys should act as if a camera is on them the whole time, as it often ends up being like that. The other side of the equation is that the girl will now have to deal with more negative feelings as it has been made public and may even read some of these comments, which won't do her self esteem any good.
Kasey
Guest
Okay, so these inconsiderate clods are a very poor ambassadors for mankind, their club and their sport, but I fail to see how anybody can use it to denigrate the entire St. Kilda FC? Each footy club in all codes has its fair share of arrogant twits. Whoever these arsehats are, their looks (athletic bodies) and skills will fade with the passage of time, then they will have to go back to living like normal people and if they carry on as they have in the real world, they’ll be in for a rude shock especially when they no longer have the entire AFL industry and fanboys like on here ready to make excuses for them (Oh the fat girl – its her fault for being a fatty! If she’d just had the grace to be a thin girl this would never have happened, oh puh-lease))
db swannie
Guest
I got as far as "International Stars". Had to stop reading there. Being World Famous in Victoria does not make you international.
William Goat
Guest
Bullied & discriminated against !? did the players approach her & taunt her ? believe it or not mate attitudes like yours are part of the problem. No-one wants to tell little Alice that she's getting pudgy & before you know she's obese before she's out of her teens. The story here should be that her family & friends cared so little about her that they didn't tell her sooner.
William Goat
Guest
Fark me mate !! bullied & discriminated against !! even if they said it directly to her face, in the nastiest manner possible, she came up to them, they certainly did not ask her for a photo did they ?! attitudes like yours are the reason kids are fat to start with because no-one wants to tell little Alice that's she becoming a bit pudgy & before you know it she's obese before she's out of her teens & haven't we reached a point in this country where we are recognising the massive ( no pun intended) problems inherent in obesity ?! The story should be that family & friends cared so little about her that she got that way, not the hideous crime that someone pointed out the freaking obvious !
William Goat
Guest
She probably is fat & the only unfortunate thing about the situation would be that her parents didn't tell her sooner & really helped her out. They are probably fat too & therefore it's acceptable to them , giving her a jersey won't stop the future heart attack.
NeeDeep
Roar Pro
I love how Andrew Lovett gets referred to as a St. Kilda player! He never even played a game for St. Kilda and when the whole story hit the fan, the club sent him packing. While it was in the news he was a St. Kilda player and as soon as it all went away and the case was dropped, he was back to being an ex "Bomber". It's not that it "continously" happens to St. Kilda - it's just that the media love to jump on a club they think they can get some mileage out of. How quickly do stories regarding Collingwood, or Carlton players die off in the media? Didak, Heath Shaw, Nick Maxwell and quiet a few others. What happened with the whole Dayne Beames thing after the GF last year? Fevola and Co., went up a gear after he left Carlton and became a Lion. Benny Cousins does a runner from a booze bus and everybody laughs it off as just pure hi-jinx by a great bloke! Why is it everytime there is a story about free-agency, who's pic is on the back page or prominent on the web-site - Brendon Goddards, off course! It's like he's the only bloke in the whole AFL competition that the concept applies to. I think if the media got a little more even-handed, you would find a lot more news worthy stories happening at all the AFL clubs - not just a select one or two who seem to always be in the gun!
yewonk
Guest
the saints boys did not seem so camera shy last season.
Matt
Guest
I remember that in 1997, Allan Border, my childhood hero, told me and my teammates to pi-s off when we asked if he wanted to come over and have a few words to us when we were visiting Lords as part of our cricket tour. In light of recent developments I now recall that I was really very hurt by his coldheartedness. I immediately require a signed cricket bat or a gift voucher or some such. Pffft. What a lot of codswallop. Girl accuser - allow me to be the first to offer you two pieces of advice that will help you in life: 1. Pour one cup of concrete. Drink it. Harden up. 2. Accept that the allegations, if true, may not have played out as you say they did had you shown a basic level of courtesy. In the meantime enjoy your alleged largeness.
k77sujith
Guest
One such remark from one player is enough to tarnish the image of a club. It's appalling to say the least.
Brian
Guest
Stephen Milne, Andrew Lovett, the pic of Riewoldt, this incident, there could be more but those come to mind.
micka
Guest
21 may not be old but it is certainly not a "young girl". I pictured maybe a 12-13 year old from the story. Young woman would have been much more appropriate, seeing as she has been able to drink and vote for 3 years now... It sounded like open, direct abuse in the article as well. Not something she overheard afterwards....
Joshua Wells
Roar Rookie
He was aggressively told to leave. This girl was bullied and discriminated against based on looks.
Joshua Wells
Roar Rookie
So 21 is old now? Also, I saw a few different sources quote different ages, therefore I thought it was best to leave it out. I went with what I knew were truths and not media beat up in order to avoid information that is misleading and untruthful.
Me too
Guest
I'll say it again. This article is deliberately and falsely defamatory and the 'omissions' should be noted. The alleged story includes the following. The 'young girl' was 21. The players had already posed with her for photos. She then wanted another group shot later. No player made those comments to her - she supposedly overheard them jokingly each other. Why has the author not included this information?
Camshaft
Guest
Re: Chappelli, about a year after he told my mate to "piss off", there was an article in a magazine where he said "I don't know why kids are scared of me". That gave us a laugh. Anyway, the guy was a winner and that's the most important thing. Different rules apply for elite sportsman. I'm comfortable with that.
Redb
Roar Guru
Over the top allround. Two young blokes were insensitive, yep they should be told to pull their head in. I bet this happens with TV celebs, footballers generally. Arrogance borne by fame can effect some, but not others. This is not a St Kilda thing - ridiculous article.
NeeDeep
Roar Pro
Good old Chappelli - same thing happened to my brother at Gloucester Park, during the World Series days. He'd just been cleaned up by Andy Roberts for 2 and wasn't in a very gracious mood!