Club statement: Katie Brennan

[bornadog]

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Three principles have been of paramount importance to Katie Brennan and the Western Bulldogs following the suspension of Katie by the AFL tribunal on Tuesday night:

to fight the injustice and inequality to women which afflicts the AFL rules;
• to give the team the best possible chance of winning Saturday’s Grand final;
• to do her best to make herself available to assist on field with pursuing that success.
After the rejection of her appeal by the AFL Appeals Board on Thursday, Katie spent several hours with Club senior management discussing her options.

The AFL yesterday submitted to the Appeals Board that if Katie challenged the discriminatory nature of the AFLW rules, Katie should take that claim to an external court.


In preparation for this, Katie’s legal team served draft documents on the AFL for a Federal Court challenge to her suspension, and a separate challenge against the AFL to the Australian Human Rights Commission.

After lengthy consideration, Katie has decided that in the best interests of the team on Saturday it is best to resolve the matter by not seeking to pursue the Federal Court application.

She will not play in Saturday’s Grand Final but will instead strongly support the team tomorrow from the sidelines.

However, both she and the Club remain resolved to right the injustice and gender discrimination which is inherent to the current AFL Rules.

Accordingly, Katie has this morning filed proceedings with the Australian Human Rights Commission seeking to have her suspension overturned and for the AFL to amend the differences between the AFLW regulations and the AFL regulations to ensure that in future, other women players are not more likely to be suspended than men for identical conduct with identical disciplinary records.

To be clear, Katie is not seeking to play tomorrow. She wants her suspension overturned in time in the interests of justice, and the rules changed to make sure what happened to her does not happen to anyone else.

“I believe my tackle on Harriet Cordner was reasonable and I strongly disagree with the guilty finding,” Katie said.

“It is even more troubling to know that if I was a man playing in the AFL and was reported for the identical tackle, I would not have been suspended and I would be playing in a Grand final tomorrow.

“The fight for gender equality is as every bit as important to me as the Grand Final and the decisions I have made reflect both of those priorities.”

Club CEO Ameet Bains said: “We are immensely proud of Katie and stand by her. Our team will be doing its best to re-pay her faith in them tomorrow.

“We share Katie’s view that her suspension was wrong and we will fully support her challenging the AFL Rules on the basis of gender discrimination.”

[Mantis]

Given the rules were in place prior to the start of the season why didn't we challenge them then?

[bornadog]

Given the rules were in place prior to the start of the season why didn't we challenge them then?

Still doesn't mean the decision was correct.

[Mantis]

Still doesn't mean the decision was correct.

It doesn't, but if anyone bothered to read the rules when they were set they could've raised it with the powers that be and had them re-aligned.

I'm pretty embarrased by this course of action... they have a GF to win and that's where the focus needs to be.

[westdog54]

It doesn't, but if anyone bothered to read the rules when they were set they could've raised it with the powers that be and had them re-aligned.

I'm pretty embarrased by this course of action... they have a GF to win and that's where the focus needs to be.

Why is it embarrassing?

Why should we just roll over and say "Too bad, so sad"?

Why shouldn't this be challenged as far as it can go?

How do we know these concerns weren't raised privately with the AFL?

Why aren't the rest of the playing group capable of focusing on a Grand Final?

[Ghost Dog]

Why is it embarrassing?

Why should we just roll over and say "Too bad, so sad"?

Why shouldn't this be challenged as far as it can go?

How do we know these concerns weren't raised privately with the AFL?

Why aren't the rest of the playing group capable of focusing on a Grand Final?

By moaning about it publicly? So, from now on, every player who believes a wrong decision has been made in the AFWL during the season is going to have a press conference about it?
It's extremely childish and embarrassing. If you don't like the rules don't play the game, as Mantis says.

[Mantis]

Why is it embarrassing?

The club made an absolute balls up of the defence of this case at the tribunal and have been behind the 8-ball since.

This on the back of several other poorly handled matters has our public image extremely low which is a long way from where it was on Oct 1 2016.

Why should we just roll over and say "Too bad, so sad"?

Why shouldn't this be challenged as far as it can go?

Taking this to the Human Right's Commission seems a few steps too far for me... Whilst the rules probably need to be aligned more closely we are talking about a completely different competition here which already has several different rules .eg. ball size, number of players on the field, game time, last touch rule, etc... Do we change all of them too?

How do we know these concerns weren't raised privately with the AFL?

I'm sure we would've heard about it if it had.

Why aren't the rest of the playing group capable of focusing on a Grand Final?

They probably are... but all media focus has been on this case when we shoud be celebrating the fact we are in a GF.

[westbulldog]

She and the Club are right to further challenge the decision, equality means the same rules for all, men and women. The AFL match review committee was a basket case of bewildering decisions last year and the trend has continued. Reminds me of Chris Grant being robbed of the Brownlow.

[Ghost Dog]

“I believe my tackle on Harriet Cordner was reasonable and I strongly disagree with the guilty finding,” Katie said.
Are AFL players allowed to come out swinging like that in the media against a tribunal decision?

I think some of the women's players are cherry picking the terms of their equality.

[SonofScray]

“I believe my tackle on Harriet Cordner was reasonable and I strongly disagree with the guilty finding,” Katie said.
Are AFL players allowed to come out swinging like that in the media against a tribunal decision?

I think some of the women's players are cherry picking the terms of their equality.

Good on her, it was a crap decision and she doesn't have to accept it all. Just the outcome. Which she has. Wish more people called it out.

[westdog54]

“I believe my tackle on Harriet Cordner was reasonable and I strongly disagree with the guilty finding,” Katie said.
Are AFL players allowed to come out swinging like that in the media against a tribunal decision?

I think some of the women's players are cherry picking the terms of their equality.

What are they going to do? Fine her? Suspend her twice?

[Twodogs]

What are they going to do? Fine her? Suspend her twice?

Whatever the punishment is you can bet it won't be the same as a bloke would have got.

[bornadog]

The club was willing to go to Court but Katie agreed it wasn't worth it and will not play, however, she will lodge a formal sex discrimination complaint against the AFL with the Australian Human Rights Commission. The club will back her.

[Ghost Dog]

Isn't it true that AFL players are not permitted to be critical of umpiring decisions and tribunal decisions in the media? Or are umpiring decisions and tribunal decisions allowed to be openly refuted by individual players in the media with AFWL?

Example; in AFL, if player x gets done for a tackle, and will therefore miss a grand final, comes out and say he disagrees with the decision at a press conference before the final, well, AFL house would have none of it. Is this just a precedent for AFWL? By the way the defence argued she should not miss the final because Bob Murphy missed a final too. What, are we still trying to be, the club people feel sorry for?

I was taught in sport you respect the official and get on with the game. 'Fight injustice' can also look a bit like spitting the dummy.

[AndrewP6]

I'm fully behind her taking this further. Stuff the officials, when they are so very clearly incompetent, I'm all for it being made public. If it was 50-50, sure, cop it on the chin. This was clearly and obviously wrong. Very wrong.