The Adelaide Crows men’s coach says Izak Rankine “was not the victim” after using a homophobic slur during last weekend’s match, as LGBTQIA+ advocates urge the AFL to do more to stamp out homophobia in the sport.
The AFL’s integrity unit on Thursday found Crows star Izak Rankine had used a “highly offensive homophobic slur against a Collingwood opponent — language that demeans and denigrates people regardless of their sexuality” during last weekend’s match.
Rankine has been handed a four-match ban, which means he could miss the grand final if the Crows make it, and was ordered to undertake further Pride In Sport training.
The AFL said on Thursday the decision was made after “an investigation and submissions from Adelaide and Rankine including compelling medical submissions”.
Izak Rankine could miss the grand final if the Crows make it. (AAP: Matt Turner)
At a press conference on Friday, coach Matthew Nicks said Rankine understood the seriousness of what he did and the ban shows the club still has work to do.
“[Rankine’s] acknowledged where he went wrong and he’s worked his way through that in the right manner,” Nicks said.
“He’s not the victim in this and by no means do we want that to be looked at that way and he knows that.
“It’s moments like this where you look at your culture and what it is you’re building and you know that you’ve still got work to do, that we aim for perfection, but we understand it’s pretty tough to get there.
“We know we have to be better in that space and we are educated around that — staff, players, everyone within the football club — is educated around why, what it is we’re trying to change in society.
“We didn’t get it right on this occasion. We’ll continue to educate.”
‘It is still happening’
LGBTQIA+ supporter group for the Crows, Rainbow Crows, said in a statement it was “deeply concerned and disappointed” at the slur being used and called for the Pride in Sport educational program to be made mandatory for all AFL clubs.
“The AFL has been very clear on their position on using homophobic language, yet it is still happening,” the group said.
“This demonstrates that there is still work to be done in this area.
“When slurs like this are used, it gives power to others to mimic and assume that if the celebrity or sports star they idolise and look up to can use them, then it’s OK for them to use them too.”
In a statement yesterday, the AFL said all AFL and AFLW players and officials receive yearly anti-vilification education and this year introduced a new dedicated LGBTQIA+ inclusion education module.
The Rainbow Crows group said it had noticed more homophobic comments on its social media posts about two AFLW players.
“These past four days have seen a large increase in homophobic remarks on our social media posts made last weekend for the AFLW,” it said.
South Australian Greens MLC and Crows supporter Robert Simms is an advocate for gay rights. (ABC News: Che Chorley)
SA Greens leader and gay rights advocate, Robert Simms, told ABC News Breakfast the “saga that has dragged on for a week” has divided South Australians.
“I think it’s [the sanction] an absolute slap in the face and it’s really been an embarrassing saga for the AFL,”
he said.
“This should really be a unifying moment for our state, particularly if the Crows get into the finals … but I think our community is coming out of this more divided and in particular a lot of LGBTI South Australians are going to feel like they can’t really participate in those celebrations.”
Mr Simms said he was worried the impact of the homophobia rhetoric on the LGBTQIA+ community, adding that the AFL should review their inclusion strategies.
“I thought this medical submissions is a fairly curious element here. Homophobia isn’t a medical condition, but homophobia does cause adverse health outcomes.
“It destroys people’s lives and I think that the AFL are forgetting to take that into consideration here.”
Footy industry needs to go ‘over and above’
Rankine is the sixth AFL-listed player to be banned for using homophobic language in the past 16 months.
Crows CEO Tim Silvers told ABC Radio Adelaide the AFL has mandatory annual training, but he will consider if the club has done enough to address homophobia.
Tim Silvers says the playing group has discussed treating their opponents respectfully. (ABC News)
“We need to review it because I’m sitting here speaking to you on the radio about a homophobic slur,” he said.
“Some people would say the AFL have invested a lot of time into it and there’s been new modules this year and there’s annual training etc. but I’m not sure it’s enough.
“We’re looking into some Pride in Sport education and training as we speak and that’s also going be part of the sanction for Izak.
“But I think as an industry we need to look to go over and above.“
Silvers said the club has also spoken with the players more broadly about treating their opponents respectfully and creating an inclusive environment.
Adelaide Crows made submissions on the length of the penalty. (ABC News)
He said he was disappointed how the issue played out publicly, but accepted Rankine did the wrong thing.
“There’s information, some of it right, some of it wrong and it just seemed to spin out of control,” he said.
“We were in the position that we couldn’t really comment because we didn’t think it was the right thing because we were going through what we thought was a private and confidential process.”
When asked about whether the Crows should have accepted the AFL’s provisional determination earlier this week, Silvers said the club followed “due process” and would not appeal the four-game ban.
Silvers said Rankine has been “doing it tough” but the decision landing has been “a good thing for him”.
“He’ll go through a bit of a reset and I’m not sure he’ll come back into the club for the next little while, but he might just have some downtime potentially out of Adelaide for awhile,” he said.
www.abc.net.au (Article Sourced Website)
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