Can we talk about culture
Firstly, I want to preface this post by saying that my overwhelming feeling over what has occurred is something approaching grief. I started supporting this team when I was a kid in the 80s and my enthusiasm for the Swans was strong enough to convert my soccer-loving Scottish dad into a fellow die-hard supporter. And now I’ve passed that passion onto my daughter, who’s 18 and loves that someone like Errol can represent her, a kid with an Aussie mum and Turkish dad. Three generations of Swans. For the best part of 40 years, I’ve invested a small part of myself and my identity into this club, so yeah, I’m gutted. I’m also a woman who took some pride in the belief that MY team was different somehow when it came to culture, better, more evolved. Wishful thinking, obviously, but that’s tribalism I guess.
So… all that to say, how do we account for the actions of 5 when, as others have pointed out on various threads, other players did nothing wrong? These things don’t occur in a vacuum, and yes, we live in a patriarchal society in which violence against women is common. But surely there is something at the heart of the club that has created the conditions for this kind of behaviour to take place, even if not all players have chosen to act in this way? Be that hubris, arrogance, turning a blind eye to ‘minor indiscretions’, toxic masculinity or a cavalier attitude to supporting young men in areas other than kicking a ball well.
So, can we talk about culture and how we can protect against this in future? Because I love this club and I’m kind of heartbroken that I might have to support the Dons soon (never let your small son choose their own team cos they’ll always choose the cool plane one).
Thanks for reading. I never post on Reddit and only comment infrequently, but this sub and the afl sub has been a source of community for me these last few days and I am keen to hear what my fellow supporters think and feel about this aspect in particular.