Women's captain departs AFL club after men's offensive Silly Saturday costumes

Photo: Supplied/ABC By Marnie Vinall, ABC News A women's senior football captain in Australia has stepped away from her local club after photos of the senior men's leadership team were posted online during their "Silly Saturday" post-season celebrations. In the photos, the captain of the men's senior team at Box Hill North Football Club (BHNFC) was dressed as a schoolgirl being sexually assaulted by a St Kilda AFL player. The outfit referred to the "St Kilda schoolgirl" scandal in 2010 when two St Kilda players were accused of having sex with a then-17-year-old schoolgirl who became pregnant. In another photo, the deputy vice-captain was dressed in full-body black face with a large penis attached to the costume. This photo was left on Instagram for more than three months. Genna Krienke, 25, said she immediately brought the costume of the AFL player to the club's attention in August and was disappointed by the lack of response over the following four months. "When I first saw it, I was outraged and disgusted," Krienke said. "I could not believe that he was dressing up as an outfit of a young girl who had made allegations of sexual [misconduct] against very powerful people in society - and that was what the captain, who leads the team, was wearing." She said after an initial meeting with the president and secretary - a few days after she first raised the issue - she did not hear back for a month and a half. She initiated another meeting in mid-October when she informed the club of the blackface photo and was told nothing had happened regarding the first photo. It was not until this month that she was informed they would take action and only after the media had contacted them. The club said in a statement to the ABC it "sincerely apologises for any offence caused following the players' end-of-season gathering". Photo: Supplied/ABC "Certain costumes and associated social media posts were inappropriate and do not reflect our values or the inclusive environment we strive to provide," the statement read. "To be clear, the club strongly condemns this behaviour and is taking the matter extremely seriously." Krienke said the coach of the senior men's team was also at the event and had not raised the issue with the club or done anything about it. Former BHNFC women's player Velvet Micale, 25, who was still involved with the club in a social capacity last year, said she was horrified by the photos and lack of apology from the men's players. "Everyone's just devastated and in disbelief that this is happening," Micale said. "Then there's no accountability. I think that's the big problem as well. I mean, I was horrified because we had an under-18 player and that's what they're mimicking, someone her age being assaulted. It's unfunny. It's wrong." Micale said she knew of about five other women's players who were considering leaving the club over the incident. 'This behaviour is unacceptable' Box Hill North has now elevated the matter to its governing body, the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA), which in turn has advised AFL Victoria and sought its feedback on next steps, including education or reprimands. The club is awaiting advice for the committee to consider and finalise its position. "Our volunteer committee is committed to ensuring our club is a safe, respectful, and welcoming environment for everyone," BHNFC said in its statement. "The club is committed to strengthening education, reinforcing our code of conduct, and continuing to review our policies and practices. We remain focused on learning from this experience and fostering a culture built on respect, accountability, and inclusion." Representatives also emailed Krienke to say they were updating club processes, so an incident of a similar nature would not happen again. This involved updating its code of conduct; requiring all registering players to read and acknowledge acceptance of the code of conduct; drafting of a new club disciplinary policy, and all functions, gatherings or events to be sanctioned by the committee. The club also reiterated it did not support any "Mad Monday" or "Silly Saturday" events. "It felt as though me complaining about this and bringing it to their attention wasn't serious enough for any action to occur," said Krienke, who wanted to see an immediate investigation into the behaviour. "It took an external media company to reach out for them to finally get that player to take down the picture [of blackface] and to bring it to VAFA's attention." She added that the women's team's former coach also brought the matter to the attention of the club and advocated on behalf of players. Krienke refuted that the timing of the incident, in the off-season, delayed a response, as the matter was brought to AFL Victoria as soon as media reached out to the club, which was also during the off-season. Krienke said that as the captain of the women's team and a leader within the club, she had a responsibility...

Women's captain departs AFL club after men's offensive Silly Saturday costumes

Continue Reading on RNZ

How do you feel about this article?

📝 Article Information

Author

Original Publisher

Published Date

Disclaimer

Women's captain departs AFL club after men's offensive Silly Saturday costumes

Continue Reading on RNZ

How do you feel about this article?

📝 Article Information

Author

Original Publisher

Published Date

Disclaimer

More from RNZ