North Melbourne Football Club is bracing for a potential boycott by some of its greatest legends. This protest is timed right before the club’s centenary celebrations planned for next week. The Western Bulldogs will be feted in 2017’s event. The mural pays tribute to the club’s first AFL premiership team of 1975 and recognizes the club’s recent achievement of an AFLW premiership team. The addition of the women’s team has led to some unhappiness from a key group — former players. Consequently, they have decided to reject their invitations.
The centenary celebrations are particularly special this year. They go hand in hand with the 50th anniversary of North Melbourne’s landmark VFL premiership win in 1975. The club will be honoring its deep history and present day accomplishments throughout the event, plus a ceremony paying tribute to the inaugural AFLW premiership team. Sonja Hood, chairwoman of North Melbourne, will hold a special welcome function during the festivities. This annual event seeks to bring together generations of players and fans.
And as for those other two — well, Sam Kekovich and John Burns have already both rejected their invitations. They were both revered members of the club’s 1975 premiership team. Their choices to boycott have focused a spotlight on a divide in the club’s hierarchy over the treatment of the women’s game. Malcolm Blight, essential to the history of North Melbourne’s next relocation, has shared his disgust. He’s bothered by the way his club has commemorated these occasions. On a day when all players, male and female, deserved the same level of recognition and celebration in this historic event, he made it all about himself.
In a stunning twist, legendary North Melbourne official Geoff Walsh found himself omitted from the centenary celebrations. At first, he was not sent an official invitation to the summit. In response to widespread protest over his omission, Walsh has now been extended an invitation to take part in the celebrations. His presence is likely to lend considerable weight to the event, not only because of his talent but because of his long connection with the club.
These activities will be focused on celebrating the lives and accomplishments of past players while bringing the current roster into this centenary celebration, engaging a new era of fans. The coach of the AFLW team and former AFL football Darren Crocker will hold an exclusive function for VIP guests. We have found that this annual event provides a truly special experience for attendees to meet one another and celebrate their similar history and accomplishments.
Caroline Wilson, an influential sports journalist and pundit, has added her voice to the debate over whether the celebrations were inappropriate. She underscored that former players’ collective decision to fight and to boycott this month’s women’s league reveals far worse problems in the sport. These concerns have ranged from increasing gender equity to the missed opportunity of better recognizing women in the sport.
North Melbourne is understandably preparing for an historic event. It needs to address these issues directly as well as honor its deep and diverse past. The club hopes to strike a balance between honoring its past and embracing its future as it continues to grow and evolve in the competitive landscape of Australian football.
