Akermanis

There are Australian Rules Footballers who are gay. The odds alone guarantee it.
I'm not interested in who or how many because another man's sexual inclination is of no interest to me.

So far as I am aware, though, none are openly gay.

The sport's highest level, the Australian Football League, prides itself in its inclusiveness. There are as many women in the spectators stands as men. Kids, families, grandparents.... it's for anyone. Sportsmanship is paramount. Reputation - when it comes to the crunch - is more important than talent. The League goes to great lengths to be politically correct, if only because millions of dollars are at stake. Every club is a high-powered corporate entity.

It's capitalist system with egalitarian soul. Arguably a slice of the spirit of Australia.

Today.... former Lions player Jason Akermanis got sacked from the Western Bulldogs.

Yes he had tensions with the coach and had improper disclosures about the inner sanctum and this and that... but it is his comments in media that gays in football should stay in the closet that will be remembered.

He's still a talented footballer but with his age and history at both the Bulldogs and the Lions... no club would go near him. His career is over.
He's probably calculated that it's okay because he's got something in the media ahead of him.

Yes he does - but for how long...? He's good, no doubt of that, but he's not exactly a legend of the game. A few years away from the limelight of football and his profile will not be what it is now.

It is only a matter of time before a woman takes the field as an AFL umpire. The days of the yob are over if you're serious about playing in the AFL.

Sooner or later a player will come out. If he still has a job in the media Akermanis will probably get airplay from it, but his comments are going to seem very 'old'.

Unless, of course... Akermanis was talking about himself.