Newman, Footy Show 'entrench misogyny'
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Television persona: Sam Newman says women serve 'very little purpose' in AFL club boardrooms. (Getty Images: Ryan Pierse)
It began with a lingerie-clad mannequin.
Shock jock Sam Newman manhandled the doll on Channel Nine's Footy Show (AFL) in a send-up of the wardrobe of The Age newspaper's chief football writer, Caroline Wilson.
The stunt outraged some of the AFL's most influential women, who called for the network to counsel the show's cast on their attitude to women.
Newman hit back on Melbourne sports radio station, SEN, claiming the women involved had a hidden agenda.
"I've never heard of more contrived posturing by hysterical desperados as those women," Newman said.
"They're a great bunch of people, I love women, been married to two or three of them. Tell me what they've ever done in football, or for football, just tell me that."
Apparently buoyed by Channel Nine's rejection of his offer to resign, Newman ventured even further on last night's Footy Show.
"People at board level being women... they serve very little purpose at board level... what do they do?" he said.
However the Footy Show's co-host, Gary Lyon, however was trying to dodge responsibility.
"I don't accept that I need to go and talk about showing respect for women," Lyon said.
Channel Nine says it accepts the concerns raised by the AFL women in their letter, and says Wilson has accepted the network's apology.
'Newman persona'
The ABC contacted Dr Melanie Heenan, who runs the AFL's respect and responsibility program to help improve players' attitudes to women, but neither she, nor the league, would comment.
The deputy chair of the Melbourne Football Club, Bev O'Connor, says Newman was just acting out his protagonist television persona when suggesting women do not belong on football boards.
"I think Sam harks back to the days where it's just about football and it's only really about what the coach and the football department does," she said.
"The reality is multi-million-dollar business and women have a role to play."
Ongoing 'vilification'
Not as forgiving is Phil Cleary, a former VFL player and coach turned commentator, and an outspoken opponent of violence against women since his sister Vicky Cleary was killed by her ex-boyfriend in 1987.
"The Footy Show has a longstanding history of vilifying women," he said.
"If you go back to Sam Newman's comments about a woman who raised allegations of violence against an AFL footballer, and Sam Newman saying it might not have been anything more than extended foreplay, you get to the core of the problem."
Cleary says men who laugh at such comments, or sit silent, are just as culpable.
"Why does Gary Lyon keep describing them as 'those ladies', and then demeaning them on the basis of a letter, the football show has entrenched misogyny," he said.
"A woman was shot dead by a bloke known to her the other day, another woman was strangled by an ex-partner - violence against women is an ongoing problem in our society and the football show vilifies women again and again and again."
-Adapted from a story aired on The World Today.
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Comments (39)
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Ford:
02 May 2008 3:10:58pm
I think the problems are with the football fraternity, the players, the supporters...the Footy Show is a sympton, not a cause.
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Dibirdi:
02 May 2008 3:46:59pm
No, the Footy Show is there to inform viewers of team lists and current issues/news in the code.
You don't have to be a thug or have misogynist views to support a player, club or football in general.
Football is a faith which has the power to connect people based on the colour of the team, not your skin or gender and just as equally with rivalries.
I would be more than happy to have Newman off the show because I'd rather see them talk footy than create controversy.Agree (2) Alert moderator
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Ford:
02 May 2008 3:58:49pm
Without Newman the show wouldn't be watched.
People can get their 'news' from anywhere...they watch the footy show for the 'hilarious' antics of the presenters.
If you don't like his antics, turn off the TV and pick up the Sports section of the paper.
You may not have to be a thug or a misogynist to support a team or a player...but it's remarkable how many are (presumably misogyny is a requirement for players only).
So many times players and teams have been accused of rape, assault etc...funny, I've never seen the football community outraged about any of these instances...not even once.
And it's all forgotten as soon as they get on the field.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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laurie:
02 May 2008 4:34:57pm
I played Aussie Rules for 39years - I won't watch the footy show because of Sam Newman - what kind of role model is he compared to Polly, Sheedy, Hird etc people who have tact and brains - neither of which he has.
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Bertrand:
02 May 2008 5:32:58pm
Since when did anyone think that Sheedy have tact?
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Far Side:
02 May 2008 7:53:45pm
Exactly right, Ford!
Sam Newman is the reason I stopped watching the footy show 2 or 3 years ago. He is a self-centred idiot with no manners whatsoever, and does not deserve any public attention.
If my experience is anything to go by, he is also detrimental to football - my interest in AFL waned hugely since I stopped watching the footy show. I couldn't even tell you who's at the top of the ladder currently (but I do know it ain't the W'eagles, dammit!)Agree (0) Alert moderator
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GoCats:
02 May 2008 4:24:47pm
I would rather see them talk footy too, and have more footy related segments. I would also like the players to say more, sitting there wondering if Sam is going to hog the limelight with another ridiculous insult to someone spoils the show.
The team lists go so quickly and the info is read and dismissed so quickly and then we go on to more stop/start comments and time wasting mainly from Sam.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Stewie:
02 May 2008 4:40:37pm
A quick side question, the AFL's most influential women? Who are they?
When will you people learn that Sam only stirs up controversey to create ratings? He does it every year, year in year out. Of course Ch9 isn't going to sack a ratings winner, they don't care about what you think, they care about advertising revenue. Please remeber this is the network that brought you The Mint, The Power of 10 and The Moment of Truth....! Need i say more??
If you don't like him, do as I do and watch something else.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Lee Harvey Oswald II:
02 May 2008 3:31:57pm
I think it is a national disgrace and shame ( although Australia is not alone in this ) that sporting "heroes" are lionized, worhipped and kow-towed to in the manner they are.
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Muzz:
02 May 2008 3:32:19pm
Poor old Sam and his mates.....footy could do without his dinosaur attitudes. His humour is like the seat sniffing antics of the current Member for Vasse (WA) who appears likely to loose his role as team leader and will continue to loose the respect of most reasonable footy lovers.
Sam, your actions are on the nose and an apology is needed. Winning ratings through deceit and grossness is not good for footy, TV or all the boys and girls growing up who wish to be like their heros.
Sam and his team ( ? led by Gary et al ) need a serious recheck of their behaviours and beliefs. Junior footy will collapse without all the women supporters and the AFL will surely slip away like boxing and wrestling as a second rate sportAgree (0) Alert moderator
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Airbag ball:
02 May 2008 3:42:16pm
Perhaps if women didnt idolize the players they wouldnt get away with so much. Judging from the partners the players arrive at their functions with, I dont women as a whole have much of a problem with football player antics.
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EpicMagic:
02 May 2008 3:47:21pm
You're right Muzz. This attitude towards women has got to be stopped and the first thing channel 9 can do is string this guy up. Who is he anyway ? He couldn't cop it as a player and now that he is on public tv he believes that he sees all and knows all about the game.
Personally I don't think I've ever watched a full episode of the AFL footy show because of stupidity like that being on it. Come on channel 9, you're going the path of Big Brother and Australian Idol. Poor people on poor television.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Ratings:
02 May 2008 3:32:56pm
Newman nor the Footy Show will ever get the boot - Channel 9 is in a huge ratings slump and apart from having Gordon Ramsay shown every other night - they only have the Footy Show - which unfortunately people will continue to watch so they can watch an over-rated, discriminating person like Newman mouth off and belittle everyone and everything that he believes isn't as "wordly" or as "smart" as he is. So the answer is - Don't watch this crap - let the ratings slump and maybe, eventually they'll take it off the television (in or dreams).....
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Id:
02 May 2008 3:45:42pm
Surely only pond life is amused by this pathetic behaviour.
I object to having my (compulsory) advertising dollars supporting this 5th grade primary school nonsense.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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ives:
02 May 2008 3:38:29pm
The Footy Show is unfortunately the lowest common denominator for the worst aspects of the football fraternity. The sportsmanship, talent and athleticism of the professionals who play the game at the highest level is not given enough of the airtime on the Show.
Instead boors like Sam Newman are encouraged to behave badly in the sad delusion that it is humour or entertainment.
I support Phil Cleary's call for the football community to put an end to the degradation of footy by these imbeciles.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Ford:
02 May 2008 3:50:48pm
It's not the lowest common denominator.
It's just the common denominator.
How often do we hear about violence against women committed by football players? Despite the frequent occurrences, do we ever see team supporters calling for the behaviour to stop? Do we see a tide of moral outrage from football fans after each new rape/assault allegation?
Of course we do not see these things.
Let's see the football community actually start taking a stand against these entrenched sexist attitudes, trying to pin it on Newman et al is a copout.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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David:
02 May 2008 4:43:04pm
You have to start somewhere, and this idiot is a good place to start.
If nine were not so desperate for ratings he would have been given the flick ages ago, but they are so desperate that they turn a blind eye.
I turned it off a couple of years ago, but would turn it back on if they could get back to a half decent program, but nine are too stupid to realise this is how the majority feel. If Kerry packer was still around he would have intervened, but without his guidance we are left with a gutless bunch who have turned the best commercial channel to the worst.
Get rid of Sam Newman and Football will improve.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Ford:
02 May 2008 4:54:20pm
So, Sam Newman...somehow..is responsible for sexism in Football? He doesn't even play anymore!
Don't you think it's more likely that he is the way he is because of his involvement with Football?
Why is the show rating so well if so many football supporters are so offended by his behaviour?
Footballers and their supporters need to cop the blame for this, not Sam Newman.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Karlis:
02 May 2008 5:20:03pm
Rubbish! Get rid of the bad egg as an example of acceptable standards! Show footballers and supporters that this behavior is not tolerated!
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Bertrand:
02 May 2008 5:41:11pm
I think we need to stop blaming football for players bad behaviour. The behaviour of the code reflects the behavioural norms of the social class that the players are drawn from. Cricketers and union players tend to behave better simply because they are drawn from a higher socio economic background then are AFL and League players.
Its not the game that makes these people thugs, its the oppurtunities that are created for their bad behaviour to be made public. Its hardly like Ben cousins is the only person to be caught with cold and flu tablets in his car, but its not many people who would be immediately arrested for it, the media to report it and everyone to automatically assume that it was actually cocaine. Its not like Wayne Carey is the only person to beat his girlfriend.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Doh:
02 May 2008 3:44:23pm
The footy show has a long tradition of vilifying not just women but anybody and everybody.
Mysogyny is the hatred of women. Taking a tasteless cheap shot is par for the course for the footy show. It is stupid and in poor taste but it is not mysogyny.Agree (1) Alert moderator
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Sid Snot:
02 May 2008 3:45:31pm
Satire is a wonderful thing! Those that set themselves up to be lampooned should sit back & enjoy it! It's free publicity after all. Whether it's Sam Newman, Rodney Rude, Kevin 'Bloody' Wilson or Billy Birmingham, it's called 'freedom of expression', whether you agree with it or not!
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Pauline:
02 May 2008 4:03:16pm
Phil Cleary said everything that I would have said.The football culture seems to think it lives in a different moral and legal universe to the rest of us, with an ability to disassociate certain behaviours from the claims of others to respect, or to dismiss them as not counting, which is correct in that closed culture.Women are spoken of as a different and inferior order of species, with any attempt at rational discourse a complete waste of time.
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Air bagball:
02 May 2008 4:20:24pm
Air bag ball culture does live in a different world to the rest of us, just have a look at the number of charges dismissed against players.
We should probably question whether its appropriate people can make a living out of kicking a ball around a paddock playing games with each other.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Mary Symes:
02 May 2008 4:13:43pm
The Footy Show needs to make some positive changes and they could look to their Sydney Rugby League colleagues for some inspiration. I don't follow Rugby League, but whenever I have watched the show it has been good entertainment. I know many people now who will not watch the Footy Show and it is obvious that Gary and James are uncomfortable with many of Sam's antics but cannot say anything effective to nip his antics in the bud. Sam's antics have often been offensive and the Caroline one was one too many.
The efforts of the men to answer their critics was pathetic and a cop out. They are like little boys trying to get out of trouble.
Sometimes Sam is ok, he does seem to enjoy meeting people on Street Talk, but the Street Talks are much more entertaining when someone else does them, particularly Shane Crawford and Billy Brownless.
A change to the format would be welcome, some real humour would be welcome. The show when Sam was away when he was ill was the best one in a long time. I do not wish Sam ill because one can see there is good in the man, but mostly he exhibits his shortcomings and we don't need to see them week after week. ThanksAgree (0) Alert moderator
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desertsaint:
02 May 2008 4:22:25pm
Sam Newman is an entertainer - not a journalist - he goes into character for the show. His character is a common stereotype - arrogant, sexist, and rude - but with the ability to recognise and criticise much of the modern politically correct driven drivel organisations and individuals spew forth. This ability is called commonsense. Perhaps critics of TFS should use theirs and stop being so precious!
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Pauline H:
02 May 2008 4:28:25pm
I am a woman of 60, I also have a sense of humor. At no time did I take offence at the show that is being discussed at the moment. It was all done in a funny way trying to make people laugh. I know my husband and myself both got a good laugh. At no time were we laughing at Caroline Wilson. I was schooled with nuns my entire time at school, thank god their straight lace way of thinking didn't rub off on me. Why can't people get a life and start laughing instead of picking holes at comedy. There is so much wrong in the world today and some sections of our society have time to sit and nit pick. Get over it and start living.
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hunter:
02 May 2008 4:28:44pm
you know how your tv (or remote for tv) has an 'ON' button?
usually, you'll find that there's also an 'OFF' button...
push it.Agree (1) Alert moderator
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Pauline:
02 May 2008 4:57:48pm
hunter, you're assuming that the issue is confined to the TV show and that we must have been watching it, thereby inviting the behaviour, but you're wrong on both counts.The issue was taken outside the show when it dragged in a journalist working for a newspaper not having anything to do with the show, outside of the control of those of us who never watch the show to turn our 'TV' sets off. Even if we had been watching there are standards for what broadcasters are allowed to do and even if there were no standards we don 't have to like the behaviour. But good suggestion about exercising freedom of choice: perhaps we'll do it in other ways that footballers won't like, such as getting to the point of being so fed up that the game, or Channel Nine, isn't worth the bother.
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Mycool1:
02 May 2008 5:31:02pm
Let the women vote him off!
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Stewie:
02 May 2008 4:36:37pm
A quick side question, the AFL's most influential women? Who are they?
When will you people learn that Sam only stirs up controversey to create ratings? He does it every year, year in year out. Of course Ch9 isn't going to sack a ratings winner, they don't care about what you think, they care about advertising revenue. Please remeber this is the network that brought you The Mint, The Power of 10 and The Moment of Truth....! Need i say more??
If you don't like him, do as I do and watch something else.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Wilton Troop:
02 May 2008 4:39:45pm
Sam Newman is symptomatic of a society which continues to provide him and his ilk with the oxygen they need to survive...
Along with the rest of the Footy Show team, they should be put out to pasture where they can cause no further damage... or permanently out of their and our misery.
That the Nine Network continues paying vast sums of money to this misogynistic bunch of sad buffoons is an indictment of the fact that there are morons out there who still actually watch the show.
I choose not to watch Newman's puerile antics. I'm just tired of having to read about him in the press and elsewhere.
He and his kind are a pariah and a national embarassment.Agree (1) Alert moderator
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Samantha S:
02 May 2008 5:05:06pm
Women need to toughen up if they want to play with the boys, seriously! The guys on the footy show don't hold back with each other, why should they when there's women from the footy industry involved.
To Caroline, I say "toughen up princess"!Agree (1) Alert moderator
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Mari Fitzpatrick:
02 May 2008 8:01:27pm
Toughen up? Speaking out against misogynist behaviour and crude 'humour', making the complaint, knowing the type of backlash to expect: what have women done for footy (who brings little footballers into the world?); women shouldn't be on the board ad nauseum.
Your 'toughen up' means being compliant and laughing along with demeaning and obnoxious stereotypes.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Plod:
02 May 2008 5:10:54pm
The only way for the Melbourne Footy Show to get the message that their so-called 'humour' is not funny to most women, is to turn it off and stop watching. When the ratings plummit, they will have to get back to basics and start actually talking about football, instead of airing Sam's stupid and offensive antics. I don't watch the Melbourne Footy Show because they don't really talk about footy, I watch Footy Classified so I can actually get some genuine intelligent input about the state of the game. They should take a leaf out of the Sydney Footy Show's book, and laugh at themselves, not at the expense of others. Satire is the lowest form of wit.
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Minilya Bungarra:
02 May 2008 6:10:10pm
Tracey Holmes has got it SPOT ON!!
People HAVE been laughing at rather than with Sam Newman for a very long time.
Tracey's comment..."People have stopped laughing with him and have been laughing at him for quite some time," she said.
"Fading light, old fashioned, bit of a throwback to be honest."
That's funnier than anything Boofhead Newman has said in years.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Al:
02 May 2008 7:04:39pm
I agree with Plod. The AFL footy show need to take a leaf out of the Rugby League footy show's book. If you can't poke fun at yourself then don't bother demeaning others.
My impression of the AFL footy show is that they don't have the balls to stand up for anyone different to themselves. Sams comments are only as disgusting as the way his co-hosts handle it.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Les Louisson:
02 May 2008 7:05:45pm
Sam Newman is trying to be the self appointed shock jock of AFL.
Who takes Sam Newman seriously since his much younger girlfriend assaulted him some time in the eighties and he took out an apprended voilence order against hear.
Sams comments won't stop me enjoying my daughter's Aus Tag team made up of 10 year old girl (sprinters) who routinely beat boys teams and represent their school as its best team.
Maintain the rage Sam because thats all you've got old man.
Regards
LesAgree (1) Alert moderator
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Dave Hilton:
02 May 2008 8:04:04pm
To Tracey Holmes at ABC sport,
Yes we stopped laughing with him a long time ago. Many of us have stopped laughing at him as well. We think he has nothing to offer the game and the fact that channel 9 continue with him says as much about the media as it does Sam.
p.s. Long live John CargherAgree (0) Alert moderator
