August 20, 2025 • 17 mins
Adelaide Crows star Izak Rankine is set to be banned for a number of matches that could rule him out of the AFL finals. It comes after he used a homophobic slur against a Collingwood player during their match last weekend, marking the sixth homophobic slur incident in AFL since April 2024.
On today’s podcast, we’re going to dive into the incident, the wider sporting and social context dominating conversations in the sport only two weeks out from the season’s finals series, and what happens next.
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Hosts: Sam Koslowski and Emma Gillespie
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Already and this is this is the Daily This is
the Daily OS. Oh, now it makes sense.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Thursday,
the twenty first of August. I'm Zam Kazlowski.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
I'm Emma Gillespie.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Adelaide Crow's star Isaac Rankin is set to miss a
number of matches that could rule him out of the
AFL finals. This comes after he used a homophobic slur
against a Collingwood player during their match last weekend, and
it's the sixth homophobic slur incident in the AFL since
April of twenty twenty four. On today's podcast, we're going
(00:42):
to dive into the incident itself, the widest sporting and
social context dominating conversations in the sport, only two weeks
out from the season's final series, and what happens next.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
We will get into all of that and more after
a quick message from today's sponsor.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Sam.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
We're talking today about this homophobic slur incident in the AFL,
But before we get to what happened, let's talk about
the player at the center of this controversy. Now, for
myself and novices alike, I had not heard about Isaac
Rankin until this incident. I am not really an AFL girly,
(01:21):
but it's certainly a story that's been dominating headlines, so
I really want to understand more.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
But tell me about Isaac Rankin, the player.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Well, I think it's fair to say that if you
are an AFL fan, but also if you're from Adelaide,
you would know the name Isaac Rankin. Ok He's a
twenty five year old forward and midfielder for the Adelaide Crows.
He's considered one of their best players. He spent four
seasons his first four seasons at the Gold Coast Suns
before he made the move to Adelaide in twenty twenty three.
(01:49):
He's one of their highest paid and most marketable players,
so the type of player you would see on the
poster as you drive through Adelaide or fly into Adelaide Airport. Now,
many AFL observers say that this year has been his
best season in the league, and if we look at
the team in general, it's fair to say Adelaide is
the best team in the competition right now. Okay, they
(02:10):
are top of the ladder and they're set to play
in their first final series since twenty seventeen. They haven't
won a premiership since nineteen ninety eight. So for a
football mad town like Adelaide, this is a really big
deal and a very big time of year.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Okay, So we're talking about a really high performing player
on the most dominant team on the ladder this season.
He's having a great season, the club's having a great season.
But this isn't really a story about football. It's not
a story about how high performing a player he is.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
It's about something much more sinister, right.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Yeah, So during Adelaide's match against Collingwood on Saturday nights
last weekend, it's alleged that Ranken directed a homophobic slur
at an opposition player. The AFL's Integrity Unit launched an investigation,
and on Tuesday night, Channel nine's Eddie McGuire reported that
Rankins season is over. His theory there is that the
(03:07):
AFL sets a hand down a five match suspension.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Okay, So why would a five match ban be so
significant for Adelaide at this time?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Well, Adelaide, as I said, is sitting on top of
the ladder. They're heading into finals. There's one match left
in the regular season. Then they have a maximum of
four games in the final series, the qualifying final, semifinal,
preliminary final, and then the Grand Final, obviously assuming they
make it there. So what that means is that a
five match suspension would rule Rankin' out for the entire
(03:39):
finals campaign, and for a team with their best show
at the Trophies since the late nineties, that is a
big blow to the club.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Okay, Now, of course this is all context for the
media storm that has ensued around this incident. It's not
necessarily excusing any of the alleged behavior, but I think
it's helpful to understand this side For me, kind of
being an outsider, understanding all of the controversy in hype
around this decision. That finals context is certainly critical.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Yeah, and you and I had a chat about that
before we came in to record this. It felt funny
to start this podcast with an explanation of the football
side of things. But as you say, I do think
it's important in placing this story in the context of
the discussions that we're about to have.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Yeah, pausing there though, specifically about the Isaac Cranken decision,
This isn't the first incident of its kind.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
When we're talking about the AFL is it.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
No, And that's also important context. So this is the
sixth recent homophobic slur incident in the competition, and the
pattern shows that escalating penalties, So a five match ban
six match ban isn't actually working. So the latest string
of incidents began with Port Adelaide player Jeremy Finlayson in
April of last year. He received a three match ban.
(04:57):
A couple of weeks after that, Gold Coasts will Be
Howe got five matches when the AFL explicitly warned at
that stage of further consequences for other players who would
be found guilty of something like this.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Then this year we had Saints player Lance Collard, he
got a six match ban. West Coast Eagle player Jack
Graham got four matches in July. His ban was lower
because he self reported the incident to the AFLA and
that was taken into account by the body as a
bit of a mitigating factor there. Sure most recently, Sydney's
Reac Andrew received five matches and that was just weeks
(05:33):
before his club's pride game.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Okay, so a very concerning pattern of behavior across the league.
We're not talking about an isolated culture problem within one club.
You could argue that there is a culture problem right
across the league. So we have a precedent of this behavior,
We have a precedent in terms of penalties for that behavior.
(05:56):
What has the Adelaide Football Club said about the incident
regarding its player.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Well, in the statements released by the Adelaide Football Club
since the incident, they have come out and said that
they don't condone any sort of homophobia in sport, and
they've given kind of the cavets we expect now from
clubs responding to this kind of incident. But at the
same time, they've launched a major defense to the AFL,
hoping to get the length of the ban reduced. At
the moment, it sounds like what they're hoping for is
(06:23):
a four match ban instead of five, to make Rankin
potentially eligible for the Grand Final should they be there.
And one of the primary arguments is that Rankin faced
aggressive verbal attacks from Collingwood players before the incident, including
comments allegedly made regarding Rankin being knocked out by competing
player Dan Houston last year when he was playing at
(06:46):
the time for crosstown rival club Port Adelaide. He signed
with Collingwood this season.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Okay, So hang on, just take me back for a second. There,
we're saying that Adelaide Football Club are kind of trying
to defend the slur or defend the place that Ranken
was in when he made the comment by suggesting that
he was agitated, That he was agitated because he himself
had suffered a really horrific head knock last year by
(07:14):
a Collingwood player. He wasn't a Collingwood player at the
time exactly, but that he was face to face with
that player and that that may have stirred up certain
feelings in him.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Well that more than that, that the player and other
players were taunting him about that injury, okay, and basically
kind of riling them up. To put that in context though,
of professional sport, I think that players do this all
the time to each other without crossing lines that lead to,
you know, being the feature of a podcast like this
is today. So that's not particularly unusual behavior.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
So not to take away from you know, the seriousness
of these comments, but there was a serious head knock
last year for him. But what you're saying there is,
you know, that doesn't excuse responding with homophobia.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
I mean, it's up to the IFL to decide whether
it does or it doesn't. What I would say though,
is that I think if you asked any sample of
AFL players or players across any sport, there would be
a fair bit of verbal combat on the sporting field,
in the sporting arena. I think that's probably the same
case for the AFLW as well, and so they're mounting
(08:18):
that as their primary argument. Their secondary argument is, hang on,
it's not the same to ban a player for five games,
including four finals, as it is to ban a player
for five games which are just as part of the
regular season. And that case has never been really put
to the AFL before in this context. It's the first
(08:38):
time in the context of a homophobic slur, and they're
basically arguing that the nature of the games should be considered.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Okay, puts the AFL in, I'm sure an incredibly difficult position.
But what about the reaction from players. Have we heard
from all those involved?
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Well, the captain of the Adelaid Football Club, his name
is Jordan Dawson, and he said that there wasn't a
cultural issue in the AFL. He said the situation was
not ideal. Those were his words. Then a teammate, a
senior teammate, Taylor Walker. He was on Triple M in Adelaide,
and he said that Rankin is quote very remorseful and
understands he's made a mistake and has isolated himself at
(09:18):
home during this investigation.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Okay, So a couple of maybe contrasting reactions from within
the same club, you know, one kind of dismissing that
there is a cultural issue across the league, another more
directly confronting the issue and reflecting remorse. But what about
Isaac Rankin himself? Has he responded directly?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
We haven't heard from Rankin himself. We understand that he
called and apologized to the player at the receiving end
of his homophobic comments. We don't know who that player is, oh, okay,
but we do know there has been contact between Rancan
and this player. Rankin hasn't released any statement publicly though,
at the time of recording to do with this incident.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
All right, So, Sam, you've given us a really good
insight into what happened last weekend what's followed in terms
of the fallout and the reaction. But I can't help
but think about those string of homophobic slurs that you
explained dating back to kind of April twenty twenty four,
several similar incidents in the year and a half.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Or so that has followed.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
I guess to put it in simplest terms, does the
AFL have a homophobia problem?
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Well, in April they released their first LGBTQI plus Inclusion
Action Plan, and in the front statement from the CEO,
Andrew Dillon, he writes, we know that historically the game
of AFL has not always been a safe space for
LGBTQI plus people, and if you look at the report overall,
(10:48):
it clearly acknowledges that not enough has been done in
the sport to make it a safe place not only
for players on the field, but coaches, staff and fans,
and it outlines the step that it wants to take
to improve that. Now, the really important piece of context
here is that the AFL remains the only major professional
male sporting code in the world to have never had
(11:11):
an openly gay or bisexual player past or present. Wow,
it's a remarkable statistic, especially when you consider that tens
of thousands of players have come through the game since
it started in eighteen ninety seven, and in April of
twenty twenty three, then CEO Gillan McLaughlin said there were
gay players in the sport, but and this is his words,
(11:33):
the pressure and the weight of being that person, of
being the first afl player who comes out and plays
as an out gay man was too much. It is
also worth mentioning that several members of the AFLW, the
women's competition, which only started last weekend, are openly part
of the LGBTQIA plus community.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
I wanted to draw that comparison because I think it
says a lot. We've got the afl W and all
of the kind of inclusive messaging around that league, that competition.
You know, it's all about visibility and empowering young girls
and including as many people as possible. And then this
(12:13):
really stark contrast of a league that is over one
hundred years old but hasn't yet had a player comfortable
or confident enough to openly come out.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Well. Advocacy organizations point to the use of pride rounds
as an example here. So the AFLW has a pride round.
It's in its fifth year now, and you know, this
provides a conversation point in the season, both visibly and
in the conversations happening in media and within clubs. But
this contrasts to the men's game where currently there's only
(12:46):
a single pride game, so one game within one round
that's played each year that's hosted by the Sydney Swans,
and that's in its ninth year, so we haven't seen
the expansion of that pride game format across the men's COMPETI.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
It's interesting, and you know, I'm sure a lot of experts,
a lot of people more qualified than me, will have
fascinating takes on you know, why the game is this way,
But any elite sport I think to understand its culture,
it is helpful to go back to the more grassroots
community club level to understand the future of that game.
(13:24):
And there is some concerning data in that respect. When
we're thinking about Ozzie Rules. There was this Australian first
study I just quickly want to tell you about into
the participation of LGBTQ plus youth in sport, and what
we learned from that is it over half of LGBTQ
plus young people have witnessed discrimination in sport, forty percent
(13:45):
have experienced it personally, and a twenty nineteen report found
seventy three percent of male amateur AFL players aged between
sixteen and twenty had heard their teammates using homophobic slurs.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Yeah, I mean, this is kind of the bigger conversation
to have and possibly its own episode of the podcast.
Is that we're talking about the elite level of sport,
but these are the role models of the game, and
we know that behavior is mirrored through all levels of sport,
way down to junior sport for kids in primary and high.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
School, and all the way up to things like halftime entertainment.
There is a bit of a conversation going on right
now about Snoop Dogg. He's been named as this year's
Grand Final entertainment. That decision has proved to be relevant
to this story.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Yeah, how so. Well, Snoop Dogg has a documented history
of homophobic statements, and I wanted to kind of encapsulate
this with a line from an editorial published by the
Age newspaper in Melbourne yesterday. It says Snoop Dogg came
up through the ranks of rapidom on a platform of sexist,
misogynistic views. That may well have been the audience to
(14:53):
which he was performing, but context comes into play here.
Many are questioning the choice on a day of family
entertainment interesting and basically it makes this case that on
one hand, the AFL is suspending players for homophobic slurs
while simultaneously paying a large sum of money to an
artist who has used similar language. Now the AFL has
(15:15):
come out the CEO and said that Snoop would perform
quote family friendly songs and suggested that some critics might
actually be converted after the performance. It's not just LGBTQI
plus organizations raising concerns about Snoop Dogg performing. We've also
heard from violence prevention organizations with some of that misogynistic
(15:36):
context in Snoop Dogg's lyrics too.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Okay, not that it's funny.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
I was just trying to imagine Snoop Dogg performing a
family friendly version of drop It like a toot or
Gin and Juice. I look forward to seeing what they
come up with, Sam. This is a very serious case though,
So where does this leave us?
Speaker 1 (15:56):
What happens next?
Speaker 2 (15:57):
So the AFL is expected to announce the penalty today.
These backroom conversations have been happening between the club and
the Code. Adelaide is expected to be given a bit
of time to respond and potentially appeal the verdict. It's
a bit of an unorthodox negotiation process happening regardless of
the band, though we are now having this broader conversation. Clearly,
(16:19):
you know this is eleven years after the AFL made
a public commitment to eradicate homophobia. We're seeing a trend
at least in the last two years that is going
the wrong way. So I guess what happens with Rankin's
penalty today is of course going to be significant for
Adelaide's premiership hopes, but the broader cultural issues here clearly
(16:40):
are going to require more than individual punishments to resolve.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
A fascinating story, and we'll keep an eye on it
and you can find all the updates in our sport
newsletter every single day that drops in your inbox. There'll
be a sign up link in the show notes if
you want to get around that.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
That's all for today's deep dive.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
We will be back later on with your evening news headlines,
but until then, have a great day.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda
Bunjelung Calkatin woman from Gadighl Country. The Daily Oz acknowledges
that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the
Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torrestrate
island and nations. We pay our respects to the first
peoples of these countries, both past and present.
Already and this is this is the Daily This is
the Daily OS. Oh, now it makes sense.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Thursday,
the twenty first of August. I'm Zam Kazlowski.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
I'm Emma Gillespie.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Adelaide Crow's star Isaac Rankin is set to miss a
number of matches that could rule him out of the
AFL finals. This comes after he used a homophobic slur
against a Collingwood player during their match last weekend, and
it's the sixth homophobic slur incident in the AFL since
April of twenty twenty four. On today's podcast, we're going
(00:42):
to dive into the incident itself, the widest sporting and
social context dominating conversations in the sport, only two weeks
out from the season's final series, and what happens next.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
We will get into all of that and more after
a quick message from today's sponsor.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Sam.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
We're talking today about this homophobic slur incident in the AFL,
But before we get to what happened, let's talk about
the player at the center of this controversy. Now, for
myself and novices alike, I had not heard about Isaac
Rankin until this incident. I am not really an AFL girly,
(01:21):
but it's certainly a story that's been dominating headlines, so
I really want to understand more.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
But tell me about Isaac Rankin, the player.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Well, I think it's fair to say that if you
are an AFL fan, but also if you're from Adelaide,
you would know the name Isaac Rankin. Ok He's a
twenty five year old forward and midfielder for the Adelaide Crows.
He's considered one of their best players. He spent four
seasons his first four seasons at the Gold Coast Suns
before he made the move to Adelaide in twenty twenty three.
(01:49):
He's one of their highest paid and most marketable players,
so the type of player you would see on the
poster as you drive through Adelaide or fly into Adelaide Airport. Now,
many AFL observers say that this year has been his
best season in the league, and if we look at
the team in general, it's fair to say Adelaide is
the best team in the competition right now. Okay, they
(02:10):
are top of the ladder and they're set to play
in their first final series since twenty seventeen. They haven't
won a premiership since nineteen ninety eight. So for a
football mad town like Adelaide, this is a really big
deal and a very big time of year.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Okay, So we're talking about a really high performing player
on the most dominant team on the ladder this season.
He's having a great season, the club's having a great season.
But this isn't really a story about football. It's not
a story about how high performing a player he is.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
It's about something much more sinister, right.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Yeah, So during Adelaide's match against Collingwood on Saturday nights
last weekend, it's alleged that Ranken directed a homophobic slur
at an opposition player. The AFL's Integrity Unit launched an investigation,
and on Tuesday night, Channel nine's Eddie McGuire reported that
Rankins season is over. His theory there is that the
(03:07):
AFL sets a hand down a five match suspension.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Okay, So why would a five match ban be so
significant for Adelaide at this time?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Well, Adelaide, as I said, is sitting on top of
the ladder. They're heading into finals. There's one match left
in the regular season. Then they have a maximum of
four games in the final series, the qualifying final, semifinal,
preliminary final, and then the Grand Final, obviously assuming they
make it there. So what that means is that a
five match suspension would rule Rankin' out for the entire
(03:39):
finals campaign, and for a team with their best show
at the Trophies since the late nineties, that is a
big blow to the club.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Okay, Now, of course this is all context for the
media storm that has ensued around this incident. It's not
necessarily excusing any of the alleged behavior, but I think
it's helpful to understand this side For me, kind of
being an outsider, understanding all of the controversy in hype
around this decision. That finals context is certainly critical.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Yeah, and you and I had a chat about that
before we came in to record this. It felt funny
to start this podcast with an explanation of the football
side of things. But as you say, I do think
it's important in placing this story in the context of
the discussions that we're about to have.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Yeah, pausing there though, specifically about the Isaac Cranken decision,
This isn't the first incident of its kind.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
When we're talking about the AFL is it.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
No, And that's also important context. So this is the
sixth recent homophobic slur incident in the competition, and the
pattern shows that escalating penalties, So a five match ban
six match ban isn't actually working. So the latest string
of incidents began with Port Adelaide player Jeremy Finlayson in
April of last year. He received a three match ban.
(04:57):
A couple of weeks after that, Gold Coasts will Be
Howe got five matches when the AFL explicitly warned at
that stage of further consequences for other players who would
be found guilty of something like this.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Then this year we had Saints player Lance Collard, he
got a six match ban. West Coast Eagle player Jack
Graham got four matches in July. His ban was lower
because he self reported the incident to the AFLA and
that was taken into account by the body as a
bit of a mitigating factor there. Sure most recently, Sydney's
Reac Andrew received five matches and that was just weeks
(05:33):
before his club's pride game.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Okay, so a very concerning pattern of behavior across the league.
We're not talking about an isolated culture problem within one club.
You could argue that there is a culture problem right
across the league. So we have a precedent of this behavior,
We have a precedent in terms of penalties for that behavior.
(05:56):
What has the Adelaide Football Club said about the incident
regarding its player.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Well, in the statements released by the Adelaide Football Club
since the incident, they have come out and said that
they don't condone any sort of homophobia in sport, and
they've given kind of the cavets we expect now from
clubs responding to this kind of incident. But at the
same time, they've launched a major defense to the AFL,
hoping to get the length of the ban reduced. At
the moment, it sounds like what they're hoping for is
(06:23):
a four match ban instead of five, to make Rankin
potentially eligible for the Grand Final should they be there.
And one of the primary arguments is that Rankin faced
aggressive verbal attacks from Collingwood players before the incident, including
comments allegedly made regarding Rankin being knocked out by competing
player Dan Houston last year when he was playing at
(06:46):
the time for crosstown rival club Port Adelaide. He signed
with Collingwood this season.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Okay, So hang on, just take me back for a second. There,
we're saying that Adelaide Football Club are kind of trying
to defend the slur or defend the place that Ranken
was in when he made the comment by suggesting that
he was agitated, That he was agitated because he himself
had suffered a really horrific head knock last year by
(07:14):
a Collingwood player. He wasn't a Collingwood player at the
time exactly, but that he was face to face with
that player and that that may have stirred up certain
feelings in him.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Well that more than that, that the player and other
players were taunting him about that injury, okay, and basically
kind of riling them up. To put that in context though,
of professional sport, I think that players do this all
the time to each other without crossing lines that lead to,
you know, being the feature of a podcast like this
is today. So that's not particularly unusual behavior.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
So not to take away from you know, the seriousness
of these comments, but there was a serious head knock
last year for him. But what you're saying there is,
you know, that doesn't excuse responding with homophobia.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
I mean, it's up to the IFL to decide whether
it does or it doesn't. What I would say though,
is that I think if you asked any sample of
AFL players or players across any sport, there would be
a fair bit of verbal combat on the sporting field,
in the sporting arena. I think that's probably the same
case for the AFLW as well, and so they're mounting
(08:18):
that as their primary argument. Their secondary argument is, hang on,
it's not the same to ban a player for five games,
including four finals, as it is to ban a player
for five games which are just as part of the
regular season. And that case has never been really put
to the AFL before in this context. It's the first
(08:38):
time in the context of a homophobic slur, and they're
basically arguing that the nature of the games should be considered.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Okay, puts the AFL in, I'm sure an incredibly difficult position.
But what about the reaction from players. Have we heard
from all those involved?
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Well, the captain of the Adelaid Football Club, his name
is Jordan Dawson, and he said that there wasn't a
cultural issue in the AFL. He said the situation was
not ideal. Those were his words. Then a teammate, a
senior teammate, Taylor Walker. He was on Triple M in Adelaide,
and he said that Rankin is quote very remorseful and
understands he's made a mistake and has isolated himself at
(09:18):
home during this investigation.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Okay, So a couple of maybe contrasting reactions from within
the same club, you know, one kind of dismissing that
there is a cultural issue across the league, another more
directly confronting the issue and reflecting remorse. But what about
Isaac Rankin himself? Has he responded directly?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
We haven't heard from Rankin himself. We understand that he
called and apologized to the player at the receiving end
of his homophobic comments. We don't know who that player is, oh, okay,
but we do know there has been contact between Rancan
and this player. Rankin hasn't released any statement publicly though,
at the time of recording to do with this incident.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
All right, So, Sam, you've given us a really good
insight into what happened last weekend what's followed in terms
of the fallout and the reaction. But I can't help
but think about those string of homophobic slurs that you
explained dating back to kind of April twenty twenty four,
several similar incidents in the year and a half.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Or so that has followed.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
I guess to put it in simplest terms, does the
AFL have a homophobia problem?
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Well, in April they released their first LGBTQI plus Inclusion
Action Plan, and in the front statement from the CEO,
Andrew Dillon, he writes, we know that historically the game
of AFL has not always been a safe space for
LGBTQI plus people, and if you look at the report overall,
(10:48):
it clearly acknowledges that not enough has been done in
the sport to make it a safe place not only
for players on the field, but coaches, staff and fans,
and it outlines the step that it wants to take
to improve that. Now, the really important piece of context
here is that the AFL remains the only major professional
male sporting code in the world to have never had
(11:11):
an openly gay or bisexual player past or present. Wow,
it's a remarkable statistic, especially when you consider that tens
of thousands of players have come through the game since
it started in eighteen ninety seven, and in April of
twenty twenty three, then CEO Gillan McLaughlin said there were
gay players in the sport, but and this is his words,
(11:33):
the pressure and the weight of being that person, of
being the first afl player who comes out and plays
as an out gay man was too much. It is
also worth mentioning that several members of the AFLW, the
women's competition, which only started last weekend, are openly part
of the LGBTQIA plus community.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
I wanted to draw that comparison because I think it
says a lot. We've got the afl W and all
of the kind of inclusive messaging around that league, that competition.
You know, it's all about visibility and empowering young girls
and including as many people as possible. And then this
(12:13):
really stark contrast of a league that is over one
hundred years old but hasn't yet had a player comfortable
or confident enough to openly come out.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Well. Advocacy organizations point to the use of pride rounds
as an example here. So the AFLW has a pride round.
It's in its fifth year now, and you know, this
provides a conversation point in the season, both visibly and
in the conversations happening in media and within clubs. But
this contrasts to the men's game where currently there's only
(12:46):
a single pride game, so one game within one round
that's played each year that's hosted by the Sydney Swans,
and that's in its ninth year, so we haven't seen
the expansion of that pride game format across the men's COMPETI.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
It's interesting, and you know, I'm sure a lot of experts,
a lot of people more qualified than me, will have
fascinating takes on you know, why the game is this way,
But any elite sport I think to understand its culture,
it is helpful to go back to the more grassroots
community club level to understand the future of that game.
(13:24):
And there is some concerning data in that respect. When
we're thinking about Ozzie Rules. There was this Australian first
study I just quickly want to tell you about into
the participation of LGBTQ plus youth in sport, and what
we learned from that is it over half of LGBTQ
plus young people have witnessed discrimination in sport, forty percent
(13:45):
have experienced it personally, and a twenty nineteen report found
seventy three percent of male amateur AFL players aged between
sixteen and twenty had heard their teammates using homophobic slurs.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Yeah, I mean, this is kind of the bigger conversation
to have and possibly its own episode of the podcast.
Is that we're talking about the elite level of sport,
but these are the role models of the game, and
we know that behavior is mirrored through all levels of sport,
way down to junior sport for kids in primary and high.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
School, and all the way up to things like halftime entertainment.
There is a bit of a conversation going on right
now about Snoop Dogg. He's been named as this year's
Grand Final entertainment. That decision has proved to be relevant
to this story.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Yeah, how so. Well, Snoop Dogg has a documented history
of homophobic statements, and I wanted to kind of encapsulate
this with a line from an editorial published by the
Age newspaper in Melbourne yesterday. It says Snoop Dogg came
up through the ranks of rapidom on a platform of sexist,
misogynistic views. That may well have been the audience to
(14:53):
which he was performing, but context comes into play here.
Many are questioning the choice on a day of family
entertainment interesting and basically it makes this case that on
one hand, the AFL is suspending players for homophobic slurs
while simultaneously paying a large sum of money to an
artist who has used similar language. Now the AFL has
(15:15):
come out the CEO and said that Snoop would perform
quote family friendly songs and suggested that some critics might
actually be converted after the performance. It's not just LGBTQI
plus organizations raising concerns about Snoop Dogg performing. We've also
heard from violence prevention organizations with some of that misogynistic
(15:36):
context in Snoop Dogg's lyrics too.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Okay, not that it's funny.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
I was just trying to imagine Snoop Dogg performing a
family friendly version of drop It like a toot or
Gin and Juice. I look forward to seeing what they
come up with, Sam. This is a very serious case though,
So where does this leave us?
Speaker 1 (15:56):
What happens next?
Speaker 2 (15:57):
So the AFL is expected to announce the penalty today.
These backroom conversations have been happening between the club and
the Code. Adelaide is expected to be given a bit
of time to respond and potentially appeal the verdict. It's
a bit of an unorthodox negotiation process happening regardless of
the band, though we are now having this broader conversation. Clearly,
(16:19):
you know this is eleven years after the AFL made
a public commitment to eradicate homophobia. We're seeing a trend
at least in the last two years that is going
the wrong way. So I guess what happens with Rankin's
penalty today is of course going to be significant for
Adelaide's premiership hopes, but the broader cultural issues here clearly
(16:40):
are going to require more than individual punishments to resolve.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
A fascinating story, and we'll keep an eye on it
and you can find all the updates in our sport
newsletter every single day that drops in your inbox. There'll
be a sign up link in the show notes if
you want to get around that.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
That's all for today's deep dive.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
We will be back later on with your evening news headlines,
but until then, have a great day.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda
Bunjelung Calkatin woman from Gadighl Country. The Daily Oz acknowledges
that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the
Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torrestrate
island and nations. We pay our respects to the first
peoples of these countries, both past and present.
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