AFLW player Moana Hope has called out retired AFL player and coach Mick Malthouse for offensive sexist comments he made at a Grand Final Luncheon yesterday. The young star spoke to AFL.com.au about the comments regarding womens football after walking out of the event on Thursday.
Malthouse insisted his comments were simply comparing the changes in AFL rules to the rules of netball, however Hope says “He was saying stuff about how women get injured and women should just not play AFL because it’s a man’s game,”. Basically, Malthouse’s comments were simply sexist.
Hope continued; “”When he was asked about the AFL changing the rules of the men’s game and the square, he then went onto talk about the game back in his day and if the AFL did change the rules, they may as well put skirts on the men, let them play netball and call them women.” The player also opened up about her exit from the luncheon, telling AFL.com.au, “I put my mic down and left the appearance, something I’ve never done before. I was so disgusted and embarrassed, I almost cried, I almost had a panic attack.”
In response, Mick Malthouse defended his comments and criticised Hope’s actions at the event calling her “very, very unprofessional”and saying “If she cared to listen instead of looking at her phone for most of the event, she would understand.”
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Because his original comments weren’t enough, Malthouse doubled down on his sexist remarks by saying “Unfortunately, she came with that attitude, she was very disappointing as far as I’m concerned on the panel. … Had she listened, she would’ve been a little bit wiser.” because it’s really hard to stop being a bitter sexist old white man once you’ve gotten the hang of it.
Those who attended the event told AFL.com.au that whilst they don’t think Malthouse’s comments were intended to be offensive, but weren’t worded appropriately. In our opinion that basically boils down to his comments being offensive anyway.
Hope concluded her discussion on the subject by stating “I don’t know how you can have that mentality, even after saying his granddaughters play football. It doesn’t make sense. It’s 2018, not 1942.” Which is pretty savage because whilst Malthouse is old, he’s not old enough to have been born in 1942. But he does seem to have the ideals and backwards beliefs of someone from that era.
Moana Hope will join North Melbourne for the upcoming AFLW season after moving from Collingwood. Mick Malthouse retired from coaching AFL in 2015 to focus on his media career, he was fired from his role at SEN in 2017 and is now a commentator for ABC.
Why anyone wants to hear commentary from a complete dickhead like Malthouse is something we can’t quite wrap our heads around. At least we’ve managed to wrap our heads around the concept of not being a sexist prick though! Check out a video for a song that sums up our feelings towards Mick Malthouse below.
Watch: Wolf Alice – “You’re A Germ”
