Captain of the Brisbane Lions, Jonathan Brown, has criticized the AFL for being “soft” and catering to parents who might discourage their children from participating in the sport.
He expressed that the recent crackdown on sling tackles represents extreme political correctness and undermines the essence of the game.
Both St Kilda’s Justin Koschitzke and Sydney Swans ruckman Shane Mumford received two-week suspensions this week for what were viewed as standard tackles that would have previously been lauded, not penalized, as recently as last season.
Although Geelong’s Joel Corey executed a more hazardous tackle, he escaped suspension due to the absence of injury to St Kilda’s Jack Steven.
Having a reputation as one of the toughest players in the sport, a visibly frustrated Brown remarked that the governing body had “overreached” and risked compromising the game’s integrity.
“AFL footy is clearly a contact sport . . . and while I recognize that society has evolved, and I accept that some previously tolerated rough elements are no longer acceptable, I’m concerned that we are becoming overly lenient,” Brown stated.
“Injuries are an unavoidable risk in any high-level contact sport, whether people like it or not. If someone finds it unacceptable, they should consider playing a non-contact sport. Eliminating physicality will ultimately harm the sport.”
“It would be akin to telling Mark Webber and the Formula One drivers they can only race in second gear to reduce the risk of a crash.”
Brown criticized the AFL for being overly focused on its public image and for trying too hard to attract junior players in the highly competitive landscape for the interest of Australian children and their parents.
The AFL aims to engage with the talent pool in Queensland and NSW to create future draft opportunities and foster a better understanding of the game.
A significant factor in Greater Western Sydney’s recruitment of Israel Folau was to appeal to Polynesian communities, which hold great importance to professional rugby codes.
Brown noted that efforts to make the game more family-friendly were not benefiting the code. The initiative to penalize sling tackles contradicts what players have learned from junior levels up to the elite level of the game, he contended.
“We risk becoming overly fixated on image and the appearance of making acceptable choices to impress mothers and drive more kids to play junior footy,” said Brown.
“I fully support making the youth game as safe as possible, but let’s not undermine the quality of our senior competition.”
“While we’ve already removed the bump from the game, let’s not eliminate hard tackles as well.”
Buford Balony says: Inform us of something we’re unaware of. GAY-F-L is as soft as it gets.
