Vagana lambasts offensive TV show
FORMER Samoa and New Zealand international Nigel Vagana said ignorance was no excuse after an ‘‘offensive’’ Australian league TV show was accused of casual racism.
Ana Tagataese, wife of Cronulla Sharks prop Sam Tagataese, criticised the Matty Johns Show for a ‘‘disrespectful’’ segment called ‘Footy Kids in Cars’ that asked children ‘‘what is the funniest name in the NRL?’’
Children were given names of Pacific Island players and asked to try and pronounce them with one parent heard saying: ‘‘There’s no easy names in there, is there? Nothing like Ben Smith.’’
One name Vagana said was ‘‘ridiculed’’ was Semi Radradra, a Fijian-born winger who debuted for Australia last year and scored four tries for Parramatta Eels in their 52-34 victory over Brisbane Broncos on Thursday.
Vagana questioned why no-one at Fox Sports Australia considered whether the segment might be offensive.
‘‘It’s actually pretty disappointing that the script was screened; that someone came up with an idea that went through the processes and actually made it all the way to air without any thought that it might have been offensive to Pacific communities, people, players and their families,’’ he said.
‘‘Sam’s wife has come out [on Facebook] and written some stuff about the show she was pretty upset about. I would fully support her in the fact that the script was offensive.’’
Vagana, 42, has worked as an education and welfare officer for the NRL for eight years since retiring in 2008, having played for the Warriors, Warrington Wolves, Canterbury, Cronulla and South Sydney.
Almost half of the registered NRL players have a Pacific Island background and Vagana was concerned that similar segments would ‘‘set a really bad precedent.’’
‘‘It allows other people to ridicule his wife and kids,’’ he said.
‘‘Are we saying it’s all right for those kids to go to school and be mocked by their surname because it was OK on TV the night before?
‘‘The names are tied in with a lot more than just the individual on the field. It’s the whole family.
‘‘Stuff like that is not right and at some stage, people have to be held accountable with the Rugby League World Cup coming up at the end of the year.’’
Ana Tagataese is worried other children would think it’s acceptable to mock her daughters because of their surname.
‘‘As a mother of two Samoan daughters, it is vital that I teach GETTY IMAGES them to be proud of their culture and the origin of their surname,’’ she said on the Matty Johns Shows’ Facebook page.
‘‘CASUAL RACISM is not ok and I do not want my daughter, who goes to school, to have to tolerate it.’’
Vagana said ignorance of any offence caused was ‘‘not an excuse’’ and believes the issue of commentators struggling with pronouncing player names hasn’t got better.
‘‘It’s not like it’s the first time names and the struggle to say them correctly has come about, but it just doesn’t seem to be getting through to the right people that there are solutions out there if you really want them.’’
The Australian media has previously been criticised for consistently pronouncing the names of Pacific Island players incorrectly.
New Zealand’s Pacific Islands Media Association lodged a complaint with the Australian broadcaster Fox Sports after rugby league internationals involving Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, the Cook Islands and Papua New Guinea in May last year.