WE DEMAND our athletes use their sporting powers and profile for good on and off the field. Right now Rebels' AFL products Jordan Roughead and Tom McDonald are clear contrasts in educating and agitating on major political and social issues facing Australia.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
One is sparking constructive, informed, positive change; the other is walking a dangerous line of ill-conceived thought pandering to an ignorant populace.
Speaking up on issues that matter, such as anti-racism, spark important, often difficult conversation. Sporting platforms at all levels can educate communities and lead change.
AFL footballers can be more than just a good kick. They have huge fan bases across broad demographics and can set the tone on big, often complex issues - at the very least to get people thinking.
Collingwood's Jordan Roughead has become a key voice in AFL Players for Climate Action movement. The AFL 200-gamer and 2016 Western Bulldogs premiership player calling on people to consider their carbon footprint and to do something about it.
Roughead is one of 260 AFL and AFLW players committed to off-set travel, by air and road, that their job demands.
Former Bulldogs' teammate Tom Campbell, now at North Melbourne, and Port Adelaide's Jasper Pittard officially launched the campaign this week from an idea more than 12 months ago, stuck in the AFL's Queensland bubble.
The pair was keen to educating themselves as to how they could make a difference on an issue that mattered to them and was impacting community clubs.
The campaign wants to talk with clubs and the league on building greener infrastructure, considering travel and cutting down on waste.
Roughead has been vocal on radio and in written opinion pieces on how environmental impacts, such as extreme heat, are rising in professional sporting codes and his concerns for grassroots clubs in facing games postponed or cancelled under such conditions.
"People say they don't want to be lectured to by footballers, but we aren't trying to school anyone on the science," Roughead wrote in The Guardian Australia. "We're simply attempting to use our platforms to inspire positive change, on a subject we really care about."
He is right. We do not, nor should we be lectured to by footballers.
But Roughead has worked a lot in complex community spaces. He is a strong advocate for LGBTIQA+ rights, youth homelessness and women's sport. When it comes to climate change, Roughead is actively involved in environmental organisations Frontrunners, Australian Conservation Foundation and Sporting Environmental Alliance.
Roughead's voice carries real weight.
The issue with Tom McDonald's opinion this week is there is no science. He is pleading ethics - making sweeping statements without backing up from sound reason.
The Melbourne premiership player, who is fully vaccinated, has been outspoken against mandatory vaccination for AFL footballers.
The AFL is yet to finalise a vaccination policy but the Victorian government's vaccine mandate for authorised workers, including professional athletes, came into effect last Friday.
McDonald argued it was wrong to force people to have a medical procedure and said he had no issues with lining up against or alongside unvaccinated players.
This goes against the state's official health rules and health leaders worldwide making clear vaccines were best protection for individuals and communities.
This is despite Victorian, Australian and health officials worldwide making clear, and backed by science, you can still contract and transmit the deadly virus to vulnerable people even when fully vaccinated.
This is even after McDonald had the absolute privilege to keep playing a sport, and winning an AFL flag, when most Victorian clubs have struggled to get back to training, let alone playing. There were no football premierships in VIctoria this year. Again.
McDonald is wading in dangerous waters and his status is asking for others to follow him.
We want footballers to have opinions. True leadership is considered thought in what you say and your actions. A lot of people will listen to what sporting heroes have to say - whether it is well-founded or not.
MORE PRESS BOX
If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.