Analysis Is it acceptable for AFL clubs to be politically biased?

[NoobPie]

Don't worry, A tweet isn't going to rid the reputation of collingwood supporters. It will take far more than that to change 120 years of Institutionalised racism at the club.

Gaawd, how pathetic are you?

 

[powerrrrrrrrrrrr]

I’ve noticed a recent trend of AFL clubs making comment on political issues, such as Australia Day etc.

Is it fair for them to make comment on issues that over 50% of their members disagree with?

Who decides to post on behalf of the club on this stuff?

Discuss.

How do you know that over 50% of a clubs members disagree with certain statements?

Just because you don’t agree with it doesn’t mean majority does. Clubs are free to do as they please and support causes as they see fit.

 

[JayJ20]

We have indigenous players playing all throughout the league.

This is the thing with some people. They want to benefit from indigenous talent but don't want to hear about their issues. Indigenous people are basically just worth a goal of the year, a side-step, an indigenous jumper and a mark of the year to some.

 

[Cotcho]

AFL clubs are just that - clubs. As organisations comprised of individuals they are free to express their views however they so wish - whether on supporting 'Change the Date', Donald Trump or Holocaust denial.

Its members are also free to agree or disagree, and if they disagree enough they are free to cancel their membership.

What irks me is when people complain that sport should be avoid being political - it has never been free of politics and it is a whitewashing of history to pretend otherwise.

Sports have always been political. Anyone who thinks otherwise is kidding themselves.

As others have said if you don’t like what your club stands for then either don’t support them, change the way in which you support them (eg not financially, stop attending) or support another club more aligned with your views.

Clubs worldwide have forever been formed through political, employment or religious associations.

Just because something always was/is, doesn’t mean it ought to be.
I am guessing at one point there wasn’t a government in the world, which separated itself from religious institutions. But eventually separation of church and state was introduced.

Could we not see the same thing in football?

I for one can’t stand virtue signalling and jumping on the latest good intention thing/act but then I like the overall policies of protect players/fans and celebration rounds of the various cultures.

Probably a hard balance to strike but when you do a bit of reading on BLM, what it really stands for, the reasons behind it etc it’s actually crazy that the AFL would go anywhere near it. I’m of the opinion it’s quite damaging to people of colour and this is the exact reason the AFL shouldn’t get involved. Can look pretty silly pretty fast.

Stick to celebration rounds I think and that’s that.

 

[Cotcho]

We have indigenous players playing all throughout the league.

This is the thing with some people. They want to benefit from indigenous talent but don't want to hear about their issues. Indigenous people are basically just worth a goal of the year, a side-step, an indigenous jumper and a mark of the year to some.

To some. I’d say a small minority. Ask yourself how you’d feel if it was a political issue you didn’t like. What if the AFL were supportive of a white Australia policy?

Put a power/law/policy in the hands of your enemy and ask yourself whether you still want it to exist.

For the record I think Jan 26 Australia Day is dumb and wouldn’t care less if it changed. In fact the day we got independence and actually became Australia would be a lot more logical.
however as I’ve said back there, imagine a political point of view you’d find horrific and ask whether you want your club supporting it. If you can fair enough. A lot of people don’t like it and it’s not because they want aboriginals to kick goals and shut up.

 

[RUNVS]

To some. I’d say a small minority. Ask yourself how you’d feel if it was a political issue you didn’t like. What if the AFL were supportive of a white Australia policy?

In that case I simply would not follow the AFL.

 

[JayJ20]

To some. I’d say a small minority. Ask yourself how you’d feel if it was a political issue you didn’t like. What if the AFL were supportive of a white Australia policy?

Put a power/law/policy in the hands of your enemy and ask yourself whether you still want it to exist.

For the record I think Jan 26 Australia Day is dumb and wouldn’t care less if it changed. In fact the day we got independence and actually became Australia would be a lot more logical.
however as I’ve said back there, imagine a political point of view you’d find horrific and ask whether you want your club supporting it. If you can fair enough. A lot of people don’t like it and it’s not because they want aboriginals to kick goals and shut up.

It depends on what it is. If Essendon ever came out and supported the Zionist issue in Palestine for example, I'd drop Essendon on the spot without a question.
If the AFL supported a white Australia policy, then I'd stop watching AFL.

The current issue is relevant to the AFL because indigenous people are relevant to both Australian history and AFL history. There's a whole round dedicated to indigenous people.

If someone supports a club that's heavily invested in indigenous issues, like Essendon, Richmond and North Melbourne, then they should already know what those clubs are going to say. No one is forcing anyone to continue watching AFL or supporting the club.

 

[The Passenger]

Trying to separate sport from politics is impossible and the two have always had something of a link. You can find this by going back to the Ancient Olympics which were held in honour of the Greek Gods - a time when religion and politics were basically one and the same.

Even in our own small part of world, in the early VFL days, St Kilda added a yellow bar so as not to look like the German Flag at the time (which was different to today's German flag). In a funny enough twist of faith, the St Kilda jersey from 1915 to 1918 bears a striking resemblance to the modern day German flag.

 

[WillHayward]

I’ve noticed a recent trend of AFL clubs making comment on political issues, such as Australia Day etc.

Is it fair for them to make comment on issues that over 50% of their members disagree with?

Who decides to post on behalf of the club on this stuff?

Discuss.

These threads annoy me.

Some of us don't follow every tiny tweet or news.
Please just briefly tell us what this is all about

Which club.
What did they say.
What forum.

Then we can contribute to the thread.

 

[Gavin Excell]

These threads annoy me.

Some of us don't follow every tiny tweet or news.
Please just briefly tell us what this is all about

Which club.
What did they say.
What forum.

Then we can contribute to the thread.

Essendon and Nth have issued statements saying Australia day date should be changed

 

[The Passenger]

Let's be honest... Almost to a tee, anyone that says "sporting clubs and organisations should stay out of politics" is in reaction to aforementioned sporting club and/or organisation supporting a stance they themselves do not take.

 

[BluStreak]

Just a question - is it ok for sport to be political but not religion - is this not double standards?

 

[Kozzie_Magic]

Further to this, I'll give you an example.

If the AFL was the progressive beast it would like to present itself as, why are there currently no openly gay AFL football players? There absolutely are gay AFL players at the moment but their social progressive talk is just that, talk. Their culture is totally different on the inside.

Just see it all for what it is, posturing and self promotion. It's hot air that changes nothing.

I don't understand this argument at all.

What has a gay AFL footballer making a public statement about their sexuality have anything to do with the AFL being progressive? Why should the individual players carry the AFL's burden? So many people in our society believe it's their right to know the intimate details of high profile person's intimate life, it's actually incredibly creepy.

 

[Kozzie_Magic]

Okay, so you don't get it. Don't worry.

Nope, doesn't get it at all.

 

[B4Bear]

Essendon and Nth have issued statements saying Australia day date should be changed

Not that I would object if North did say that, but they did not mention anything about changing the date at all.

They said they look forward to a day where the entire country can celebrate together.

This simple statement bought out all of the bogans, the racists, the bigots and the ill-educated on-line. Facebook is a cesspool at times that is for sure.

As for the refrain of keeping politics and sports separate, tell that to our idiot PM who wants to be the water boy for the PM's XI so he can boost his everyman image.

 

[Kozzie_Magic]

Not that I would object if North did say that, but they did not mention anything about changing the date at all.

They said they look forward to a day where the entire country can celebrate together.

This simple statement bought out all of the bogans, the racists, the bigots and the ill-educated on-line. Facebook is a cesspool at times that is for sure.

As for the refrain of keeping politics and sports separate, tell that to our idiot PM who wants to be the water boy for the PM's XI so he can boost his everyman image.

Not sure if you know what being a bigot really means, the far left are the biggest bigots of all. Just as bad as the far right, probably more so in fact.

 

[B4Bear]

Not sure if you know what being a bigot really means, the far left are the biggest bigots of all. Just as bad as the far right, probably more so in fact.

Not sure? Unless you read the Facebook page I am specifically talking about, I would suggest you have NFI as to what I am talking about.

We are not talking about political ideology here, we are talking about the specific things that people posted online.

 

[Taylor]

I don't understand this argument at all.

What has a gay AFL footballer making a public statement about their sexuality have anything to do with the AFL being progressive? Why should the individual players carry the AFL's burden? So many people in our society believe it's their right to know the intimate details of high profile person's intimate life, it's actually incredibly creepy.

Its a reflection of the culture supported within the AFL community.

If you'd like to see a direct comparison of how progressive culture is supported, look at AFLW.

The AFL doesn't live what it preaches.

 

[Vikingnz]

Not sure if you know what being a bigot really means, the far left are the biggest bigots of all. Just as bad as the far right, probably more so in fact.

How revealing that you immediately assumed that bigot = right wing.

 

[Gavin Excell]

Not that I would object if North did say that, but they did not mention anything about changing the date at all.

They said they look forward to a day where the entire country can celebrate together.

This simple statement bought out all of the bogans, the racists, the bigots and the ill-educated on-line. Facebook is a cesspool at times that is for sure.

As for the refrain of keeping politics and sports separate, tell that to our idiot PM who wants to be the water boy for the PM's XI so he can boost his everyman image.

Thanks for the correction. I read something in media about it yesterday and obviously got it wrong.

 

[Jugada]

Clubs, businesses etc don't have political stances. People have political stances. All you are getting is the bigwigs personal views whenever these sort of statements come out

 

[Cotcho]

In that case I simply would not follow the AFL.

It depends on what it is. If Essendon ever came out and supported the Zionist issue in Palestine for example, I'd drop Essendon on the spot without a question.
If the AFL supported a white Australia policy, then I'd stop watching AFL.

The current issue is relevant to the AFL because indigenous people are relevant to both Australian history and AFL history. There's a whole round dedicated to indigenous people.

If someone supports a club that's heavily invested in indigenous issues, like Essendon, Richmond and North Melbourne, then they should already know what those clubs are going to say. No one is forcing anyone to continue watching AFL or supporting the club.

And what a shame that would be IMO

 

[RAPPA]

Clubs should stay out of the politics and trendy social causes of the day and focus on their core business. There’s enough crap and misery shoved down our throats at work, in the media, on the internet and by big business nowadays. The days of following your favourite sporting team and forgetting about life for a couple of hours a week is just about over. Clubs have become so brand conscience, wanky media departments frightened to death by not endorsing the cause of the day.
As if I’m going to listen and agree just because they wear my teams colours to what some out of touch millionaire sportsperson says or not.

On that basis, who gives a crap what the club spouts out. As adults capable of individual thinking and exercising choice, we have the final say on whether we listen to or otherwise entertain those peripheral matters. Being a club member does not automatically mean you support the club’s stance on side issues. A person can choose to be a member of a club for any one of a variety of reasons and, by the same token, choose to agree, disagree or take no interest in the Club’s non-football related matters.

 

[Jamolad]

...The days of following your favourite sporting team and forgetting about life for a couple of hours a week is just about over.

...but on weekends comes the time - you can do whatever turns you on, get out and clear your mind.

 

[Bicko]

These threads annoy me.

Some of us don't follow every tiny tweet or news.
Please just briefly tell us what this is all about

Which club.
What did they say.
What forum.

Then we can contribute to the thread.

Thanks, was about to go off on a tangent.