Australian Football League faulted for failure to follow through on commitment to inclusion

Last year following the homophobic statements of Jason Akermanis, the Australian [rule] Football League promised a response in favor of inclusion. Among the ideas mooted has been for a "diversity round"*.  For Australia's The Age:

AFL denies leaving gay issue in the closet
Samantha Lane
May 14, 2011

AFL CHIEF Andrew Demetriou has dismissed assertions that football has neglected how it addresses homophobia since the concerted steps it took 12 months ago to tackle the issue.

The CEO's comments follow observations made this week by two experts who were approached by the AFL last year to explore how the sport could tackle the problem.

Dr Helen Szoke, head of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, and Rob Mitchell, a member of the state government's sport governance and inclusion project who continues to consult the AFL Players Association about strategies to combat homophobia, told The Age that the AFL appeared to have stalled on the matter after taking promising early steps.

Mitchell was a member of a steering committee that was handpicked by the AFL last year to explore how football could support International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO). He expressed frustration this week that the committee had not met for a year after themed games and other awareness-raising ideas had been explored.

''We don't have a round for cancer, we don't have a round for the homelessness, yet we do things. We know very well what our views are about discrimination and I think the public do as well. We are an inclusive game that celebrates diversity,'' Demetriou said on 3AW yesterday.

Szoke this week praised football for the ''very strong public statements'' it made around homophobia last year, but also said: ''It doesn't appear that that has necessarily been followed up with any public activity.''

Richmond's Daniel Jackson - who will attend an event to mark IDAHO on Monday with Western Bulldog Robert Murphy and Carlton's Nick Duigan - said yesterday that a diversity round could ''integrate all the things the AFL say they're encompassing. So whether it's the racial issue or the homophobia issue.''

Mary Wooldridge, the state minister for mental health who was on an extended radio panel discussion on JOY FM with Jackson and Mitchell, said: ''There's always more that sporting groups can do, and there's no doubt that the sporting environment is a critical one to influencing outcomes here.''

''I think it's really disappointing that the AFL aren't taking the lead here,'' Mitchell said.

''They're dragging the chain by a long shot when it comes to this issue … I want them to be pro-active but nothing happens without a crisis.''

Other members of the steering committee contacted by The Age this week did not want to comment publicly as Mitchell did.

But they did agree last year's positive meetings appeared to have amounted to little.

More on this story from the Sydney Morning Herald HERE.

*A round is when each team plays one other team. In a season there could be, for example, 16 rounds. There have been special rounds in the past, for example "Heritage Rounds" where teams where historic jerseys. Thanks to GR in Sydney!