Source : ABC NEWS
The Box Hill North Football Club players involved in inappropriate photos posted online after their “Silly Saturday” post-season celebrations have been sanctioned by the league’s governing body.
The reprimands have been called “extremely lenient” by the former women’s captain who first brought the behaviour to the club’s attention in August last year.
In the photos posted to social media, the captain of the men’s senior team was dressed as a schoolgirl having her breast touched 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 17-year-old schoolgirl.
Box Hill North Amateur Football Club men’s senior players during their “Silly Saturday” post-season celebrations. (Supplied)
In another photo, the deputy vice-captain was dressed in full-body blackface with a large penis attached to the costume. This photo was left on Instagram for more than three months.
The four players involved were found by the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) to have breached the league’s national community football policy general code of conduct and the VAFA’s social media policy.
The two players who posted the photos to social media received a three-week suspension, while the other two players in the photos received a two-week ban.
They have all been stood down from any leadership roles until they complete appropriate education sessions, after which their positions will be reviewed.
The league said all players pleaded guilty and cooperated fully with the investigation.
Genna Krienke, the former captain of the women’s team who brought the photos to the club’s attention, said the club took no action for four months and only raised the issue to VAFA after the media got involved.
The 25-year-old, who has now left the club, took part in the league’s investigation into the matter, yet said she had not been contacted by VAFA, AFL Victoria or the club following the handing down of the punishments.
“I’m disappointed but not surprised that it’s [the sanctions] just a slap on the wrist,” Krienke told the ABC.
“The players are not going to learn from this at all, other clubs are not going to learn from this either, because they’ve seen that the punishment is just one to three weeks of sitting out.”
Genna Krienke was the captain of the Box Hill North Football Club’s senior women’s team. (Supplied)
When the photos were first reported by ABC Sport, the club provided a statement in which it “sincerely apologises for any offence caused following the players’ end-of-season gathering”.
“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.”
The club did not respond to multiple requests for comment by the ABC following the sanctions, including asking what the education sessions involved and an expected timeframe.
VAFA also declined to comment on what the education sessions involved.
Krienke said she did not think the club could say in good faith that it had taken the matter seriously at any stage throughout the process.
“They were slow in approaching it. They were hesitant to investigate it. They’ve been extremely lenient with the coach and the players in the punishment,” she said.
“They cannot look me in the eyes, or look any woman, person of colour or marginalised person in the community in the eyes, and say, ‘We’ve taken this seriously.'”
She added it was “beyond disgusting” that in the eyes of VAFA and the club, careless conduct on a football field could have resulted in a harsher punishment than the players’ planning and choosing to wear the offensive costumes.
One source told ABC Sport the players testified they had been subjected to social media abuse following the story becoming public, which was a factor in the decision-making around the suspensions.
VAFA said in a statement following the sanctions it “remains committed to upholding its values of respect, inclusion, community and integrity, and to educating all members in support of these principles”.
The club will also conduct two respectful relationships workshops (as recommended by AFL Victoria) for the men’s playing and coaching group and undertake a whole-of-club “Healthy Club” workshop facilitated by Relationships Australia.
VAFA, AFL Victoria and Box Hill North were contacted for further comment by ABC Sport.
