Re: Doggies battling to get Aka back on the leash
Originally Posted by
bobmurphy
Are people disagreeing with the article or who wrote it?
It would seem that Akermanis now makes more money in the media than on the field.
At least 3 times a year he brings pressure and negative press about our Football Club.
Rightly or wrongly people who dont have an interest in football see Akermanis as "our" spokes person and would think his opinions are the clubs opinions.
Now he is struggling on the field more than ever before.
Interesting times for Akermanis; especially if he does spend sometime in the VFL.
Take it easy Bob; nobody regards Aker as a spokesperson for our club. Let's distinguish between hype and reality.
If you want the club's view Rocket, Cam or Smorgo are the spokespersons. Aker is an interesting and usually intelligent, byplay.
Courage isn't one of the qualities he lacks, so probably there are no real “interesting times for him”, more like yet another storm in a much used teacup. Anybody with half a brain knows what Aker is about, and in spite of his recent supposed gaffs he has yet again raised an issue that needs public airing.
If we are to get to the stage where one's gender orientation is not an issue in sport then we don't need all this hype and condemnation; what we need is cool heads to address the notion that gay guys or in other contexts girls, are constantly “on the hunt”. That they aren’t, and that they are no more promiscuous than you and I, is the issue raised by Aker or "his assistants", perhaps in a somewhat confused and combative manner. From my perspective I'm glad to have it in the public domain.
Let me make it clear my orientation is heterosexual, but that's not a moral or superior position it's just a matter of nature, I have friends of all gender positions, whose sexual orientation is their own business as is mine, except when I engage in debate about it.
For better or for worse, and one can't be sure what ideas were Aker's and what were either his ghost writer or subbies at the Hun, he/they have raised the issue of “straight” guys not feeling at ease with nude contact with persons of "suspicious" orientations.
It might surprise some, but this and other largely unreconstructed macho values, still dominate the AFL dressing rooms.
My own experience is that this fear is just another example of a stereotype to be overcome. But until someone identifies the issue it will remain unaddressed. Shooting the messenger doesn’t help; as with all such phenomenon anxiety is at the heart of the matter and being explicit about your fears is the first stage in overcoming them.
Last edited by alwaysadog; 27-05-2010 at 10:40 PM.
Reason: Typo
I believe there's nothing on this earth that we own. All we do is look after it for our children - Terry Wheeler