The Roar
The Roar

AFL
Advertisement

Opinion

The AFL needs more diverse commentators

Autoplay in... 6 (Cancel)
Up Next No more videos! Playlist is empty -
Replay
Cancel
Next
Roar Guru
14th June, 2020
41

In light of the recent death of George Floyd at the hands of four police officers in the United States, and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests, prominent public figures and organisations have united in their shared grief over such needless death.

The AFL has attempted to improve relations with Indigenous communities commensurate with the contributions made by hundreds of Aboriginal Australians to our great game.

The AFL has established programs such as web series like Yokayi Footy, Sir Doug Nicholls Round, and Dreamtime at the ‘G.

Despite this outreach, there have been numerous instances of racism that forms a blight on the game, from the disgraceful treatment of Indigenous players such as Adam Goodes and Liam Ryan to the implicitly negative treatment of players of colour, such as Heritier Lumumba, felt in their time in the AFL.

Adam Goodes looks on

(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Despite the efforts of the AFL, there is one milieu in which Aboriginal Australians remain decidedly under-represented: the commentary bench.

So first off, let’s start with the two most prominent outlets in Australia for commentary: Channel Seven and Fox Footy.

Neither of them have Indigenous Australians on their commentary teams. While they have had Indigenous Australians as guest broadcasters, no Indigenous Australian has ever held a lead commentator job for either of these networks.

Advertisement

This might get better in local network television. I have sought this out yet have not found any evidence to suggest it. Please readers of The Roar, let me know.

When we move to radio, it does not get much better.

Triple M, for example, only hired their first Indigenous commentator, Tony Armstrong, in 2019.

ABC Grandstand has the best representation of the Indigenous community across their commentary team with Shannon Byrne and Charlie King both hailing from the NT.

This is not an irreparable situation. I believe both Fox and Seven are unaware of this predicament.

However, in light of the negative treatment of Indigenous Australians and various people from communities of colour, this situation must be amended.

Advertisement

It is necessary for the modern game to bring in a diverse array of perspectives to show the disparate experiences and acknowledge the contributions of Indigenous Australians to the Australian Football League.

The AFL has shown interest in improving its relations with Indigenous Australians with the aforementioned programs and playing more games in the Northern Territory and Alice Springs.

But the dearth of Indigenous Australians in the commentary box is an indictment on the current management and is something that should improve with time.

close