Misogyny in the AFL continues unabated, with male players now mocking a woman who was sexually assaulted, allegedly by a Sydney Swans player, in Melbourne one week ago.
The AFL has not yet spoken about footage showing a group of players from the Richmond Tigers AFL team taking the piss out of the victim.
The Richmond men re-enacted one of the alleged Sydney Swans sexual assaults during their Mad Monday celebration at a hotel in the Gippsland area.
Footage shows Josh Smillie – @josh.smil – pulling his pants down before a teammate smacks him several times on his buttocks.
Meanwhile, Tim Taranto – @tim.taranto – was filmed whipping a teammate on his bare back with a belt. That teammate takes the belt and hits Smillie.
As this is happening, the other players stand around laughing and none of them calls the men out or attempts to stop it.
This is in reference to un-verified claims across social media that one of three alleged women was ‘slapped one extra time’ by one of the Sydney Swans players. It must be noted there is no evidence this is what happened.
Sexism is part of the AFL’s historical narrative and the league – as well as individual teams – are not doing nearly enough to change the tide.
For example, the Sydney Swans five players are still eligible to gain votes in the Brownlow Medal best and fairest count, although they are not invited to the event.
And the AFL is refusing to investigate the incident at the Pullman Hotel until after police finish their investigation. The AFL has made some noises about supporting women but taking a hard stance on the players now would show the organisation is serious.
It also doesn’t help that some in the media are downplaying these acts – as announcer on Kiss FM this morning described the Richmond men as just ‘boys will be boys’ fun.
❤️ I am calling on the AFL to make the Swans players ineligible for the Brownlow. Sign the petition
