Culture

AFLW Fans Are Slamming This Commentator For Suggesting Footy Is “Too Physical” For Women

"Just too physical for the female body... unlike menstruation, sex, pregnancy or menopause, which are zen-like performances of the mind."

by Tom Clift  13 July 2017

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Whether it’s Sam Newman cracking transphobic jokes on The Footy Show or Eddie McGuire laughing about drowning a female journalist on Triple M, the football media is somewhat renowned for its ability to produce spectacularly awful takes. Takes like that of ex-Richmond player Kevin Bartlett, who yesterday asked listeners on his Melbourne radio show whether Aussie rules is “too physical for the female body”.

On Wednesday, the former player turned SEN commentator raised concerns about the number of injuries being sustained by young female footballers.

“My local under-16 girls team in its first season of competition has had an ambulance called to their past six games,” Bartlett told listeners on his daily morning program, Hungry For Sport. “Talkback callers yesterday told me of similar stories such as five ambulances in seven games, triple zero calls have trebled with injured girls, and hospital casualty wards on the weekends are filled with girls in footy jumpers.”

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“It’s a reasonable question to ask, is the game just too physical for the female body and will parents lose their enthusiasm for their daughters to play such a physical contact game and will serious injuries send girls back to traditional sports?” Bartlett continued. “On feedback that I’m getting, that might be the case.”

Despite Bartlett couching his comments in (presumably genuine) concerns about injury rates, there’s no denying the double standard at play here. Last I checked, male footballers aren’t exactly impervious to injury either, but you don’t hear KB suggesting that their bodies mightn’t be up to the challenge.

Unsurprisingly, AFLW fans on social media were less than impressed.

Also weighing in was Melbourne AFLW captain Daisy Pearce, who remarked that injuries occur at all levels, but that many people “just find it more confronting when females are injured” due to their preconceived ideas about gender roles.

Pearce also pointed out that one of the big reasons injury rates among women may be higher is because there are fewer opportunities for female players to develop their talents at the amateur level.

This sentiment was echoed by a number of AFLW personalities, including Fox Footy commentator Anna Harrington and GWS player Alicia Eva.

Basically, the consensus is that if you want to reduce the number of injuries, you need to invest more in women’s footy, not less.

Ultimately, Australian netball star Bianca Chatfield summed things up thusly.

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Feature image via SEN