Hypocrisy at play after homophobic slur

The hand-wringing by some pundits and fans over Jeremy Finlayson’s homophobic slur has been extraordinary. We’ve all read what Finlayson said to an unnamed Essendon player during the third quarter last week.

It was highly offensive – a word that should never be used.

Finlayson said it, as Port Adelaide president David Koch has pointed out, in the heat of battle.

He clearly knew that what he said was wrong. He reported the slur to club officials at three-quarter-time and apologised to the Essendon player after the match.

A public apology was submitted the next day – there was never any effort by Finlayson or his club to hide or downplay his misdemeanour.

Despite the AFL dishing out a three-match ban last Wednesday, some still believe it is not enough.

All I can say is let he who has never spat a slur, or offensively abused someone in the heat of an argument, cast the first stone.

The punishment had already been meted. Finlayson had to admit his shame to his superiors knowing what would follow, but he did so without reservation.

He made every effort to right his wrong and fairly faced widespread public criticism.

But to extend that to a ban was overkill.

Anyone who watched the reaction of the weekend and gleaned that it’s OK to throw homophobic slurs around the footy field is beyond dense.

Over at the AFLW, Muslim

Greater Western Sydney midfielder Haneen Zreika has twice refused to play in the league’s pride round.

In 2022, she wrote that it was because “I have a responsibility to represent my faith and my community”, by which she publicly affirmed that it is wrong to be gay.

Homosexuality is, according to the Australian National Imams Council, a “forbidden act”, and a “major” and “manifest” sin. Her refusal to play was supported by both the AFL and her club. So, according to the AFL, it is perfectly legitimate to believe that homosexuals are aberrant people who will be punished for eternity in hell and affirm that by refusing to participate in a game that supports gay people – however, someone who likely has no philosophical opposition to homosexuality but stupidly utters a slur must be condemned.

Meanwhile, the AFL also implicitly supports the consumption of illicit drugs – the purchase of which funds murder, sexual slavery and other criminality by gangs – by encouraging players to get tested by club doctors to avoid sanctions for testing positive on the field.

The moral hypocrisy stinks.