In the midst of the AFL finals season Jason Akermanis has come under fire for offending gay people yet again, in what will hopefully be the last instance of the media, or anyone, paying attention to what he has to say.
The fallen superstar tweeted ‘who cares?’ in response to a campaign by a gay footballer appealing to the AFL to do more to combat homophobia. Akermanis was then subjected to a barrage of criticism and ridicule from Twitter users, and he quickly deactivated his Twitter account.
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This latest incident follows a string of off-field controversies that saw Aker sensationally axed by the Western Bulldogs for ‘breaching trust” after putting his media commitments ahead of the team, his role as a footy expert on Sunshine Coast’s Mix FM ended after one shift for criticizing the late Jim Stynes two days after his death, and being fired from Celebrity Apprentice for being, well, Jason Akermanis.
From the infamous column for the Herald Sun, “Locker room nudity and homoerotic activities are normal inside footy clubs,” he advised young “gay” players who are “thinking of telling the world [about their sexual orientation to] forget it.”
The story went global, with Akermanis clarifying his comments – and inflaming the outcry on Nine’s Today show.
Just two days after Jim Stynes passed away, he described the late footy legend as “nasty” and said he was “worshipped like a demi-god.” Aker didn’t play in the same team as him, in fact didn’t even share a football field with the man, as they played in different eras. If one of Stynes’ ex-teammates or close friends, had made the comments, the timing still would have been extremely insensitive but at least would have carried some weight. But from someone like Akermanis, who has built a reputation on being provocative for the sake of being provocative, comments like these are unforgivable.
The AFL last week said it was considering hosting a ‘gay pride round’, after the organisation was criticised for not doing more to combat homophobia. St Kilda’s Stephen Milne escaped with a fine and an education course, rather than a suspension, for calling Collingwood defender Harry O’Brien a “f—ing homo” during a game last month.
But the AFL itself is not the worst offender. Akermanis is a Brownlow medalist and triple AFL premiership player, worthy accomplishments that the majority of AFL players will only dream of reaching. But success on the sportsfield is not an automatic right to say whatever you want. Especially when your comments are deliberately inflammatory.
The last thing these issues need is a loud mouthed bloke with controversial and deliberately divisive opinions to step into the debate, who clearly hasn’t done any real research. His comments aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on, and the media is equally to blame for even still listening to him.
He’s not a terrible bloke. He learned AUSLAN to communicate with his wife’s hearing-impaired parents, and anyone that goes out of their way to communicate with their in-laws deserves a pat on the back.
Akermanis is not alone in his irrelevancy. Former politicians often try to hold on to their constituency through columns – take Amanda Vanstone and Peter Costello. Although their thoughts still generate interest and sometimes these columns are well researched, more often they’re just retreads of the same tired ideas that lost them elections in the first place. They’re people who are no longer ‘in the game’ so to speak, so are instead content sniping from the sidelines.
Aker can feel free to talk about things he has proven knowledge about, perhaps superstars falling from grace, or a column on what it’s like to no longer write a column. But his blatant homophobia and snide comments prove he has nothing legitimate to say anymore.
The mainstream media is not a cheap mouthpiece to be abused at a whim. It’s a critical tool in democracy, and if irrelevant voices like Akermanis continue to be valued, then the devaluation of our own media will only continue.
