Culture

The AFLW Is Going To Hold Its First Ever Pride Game This Month

by Max Koslowski  8 February 2018

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Game on: in round four of the AFLW this year, the Western Bulldogs and Carlton will face off in the league’s first ever women’s pride match.

Bulldogs defender Hannah Scott said the game will mean everything to her and her partner.

“For the Bulldogs and Carlton to back this… I’m so proud to be a part of the Western Bulldogs and pulling on that jumper is going to be something I’ll remember forever.”

“We had a massive breakthrough with marriage equality, but we can’t stop there, we have to keep pushing. There’s just so much people don’t know. We’re in the public eye, what better thing to do than help young people come out and be proud of who they are.”

The game, which will be played at VU Whitten Oval, was announced on Wednesday in Melbourne’s Footscray, at the LGBTIQ+ bar Pride of our Footscray.

Players from both teams were surprised to hear that Carlton were getting involved, especially after they were one of the only teams that did not get on board with the AFL’s marriage equality campaign.

When asked about Carlton’s history with LGBTIQ+ issues, player Brianna Davey defended the club.

“I can’t comment on that too much, it’s more so for me the personal experiences I’ve had there,” she said. “They’ve been absolutely fantastic and they’ve really stuck true to those values of being included and feeling like you belong and I know a lot of the girls would echo that.”

According to Western Bulldogs CEO Ameet Bains, clubs started talking about the possibility of a pride match last year.

“As a club, there had been a number of internal conversations that have been taking place over the last 12 months since the competition has started, around how the club can play a more proactive role in promoting gender diversity and supporting the LGBTQI community.”

“Our core purpose as a football club is about making people feel like they belong, so elements around equality and inclusion and acceptance are critical to our purpose, and the reality is we can now live that out in what we do every day, which is a football match.”

But AFLW hasn’t had the best relationship with LGBTQI+ issues in the past. Last year, transgender player Hannah Mouncey was barred from being part of the AFLW draft — the AFL said that it followed the standards set out by the International Olympic Committee, which measured testosterone levels to determine whether athletes could compete.

The pride game will be played on Friday 23 February.