A CALL TO ARMS! NETBALL MUMS OF AUSTRALIA UNITE!
WHY ARE YOU IGNORING OUR WORLD CHAMPION, ALL CONQUERING AUSTRALIAN DIAMONDS? YES, MAINSTREAM MEDIA – I’M LOOKING AT YOU!
The Australia Diamonds Netball team are the most successful sporting team in this country. Period. Not the most successful female team. THE MOST SUCCESSFUL TEAM.
The just won the Four Nations cup annihilating the English on home soil. I don’t say annihilation lightly – we won by 20 goals and their normally cocky coach admitted to being “schooled”. It was brutal, but it was also glorious. They are the consummate team our Diamonds. Self-proclaimed sisters in arms. The ultimate warrior women. One for all and all for one. No drug scandals, no bitchy side looks – these girls love each other and their sport. They are perfection. Every time an opponent dares to get within ten goals, they find a way to get better. Yet they are humble, hardworking, supportive of each other. As I said, they are glorious. Like a team of Ash Bartys. These women are everything.
This team are World Champions, Commonwealth Games Champions, Quad Series Champions, Constellation Cup Champions and every other cup Champions. They have won every, single competition over the last cycle. They are probably the best netball team we have ever had, and they will go down in history as such.
Yet they are being largely ignored. Why?
The Netball Australia Board and administration is absolutely an issue. No doubt about it. Their rough house tactics with the Suncorp Super league players (our professional league) on the enterprise bargaining was old school bully boy tactics. Their sharp rejection of Netball Queen Liz Ellis is beyond ludicrous. The management of the Gina Rhinehardt sponsorship deal was categorically inept and left Donnell Wallam to take the flak (completely unfairly). Yet through all of this the players have shown grace, humility and above all, that women supporting women, being sisters in arms can propel greatness.
Is that why the mainstream media largely ignores our brilliant Diamonds? Women banding together and shooting goals is indirect opposition to the patriarchy? Is our mainstream media really just another vehicle for the patriarchy? I hope not, but how else do you explain the lack of coverage? It isn’t interest. Have a look at the participation numbers. Have a look at the grassroots. Have a look at social media penetration.
These women are marvellous ambassadors for girls, for women, for sport in this country. They are everything we admire in our sporting teams. Yet we allow a right wing, anti “woke” agenda to belittle a marvellous indigenous player, to perpetuate grave untruths (Donnell Wallam was never “dropped” from the Diamonds as one very poorly informed news outlet reported – she was and is part of the squad and played as part of the rotation in England) – she also never “demanded” (same media outlet) that the Diamonds reject the sponsorship deal (Gina Rhinehardt withdrew the sponsorship deal) and the sponsorship deal was replaced in full by Visit Victoria within a month – so that is not the cause of Netball Australia’s money woes. Those woes (which are completely unfathomable to me when I sit at sold out Vixens and Swifts games and go in virtual queues to nab Diamonds tickets and stand in line for merchandise) can only be attributed to the board and administration of Netball Australia.
Our Diamonds, our SSN teams, our grassroots netball organisations are marvellous. Our sport is the best in the world (Ok maybe I’m a bit biased here) but I’m not biased when I loudly proclaim our Diamonds as the best team in this country. Male or female. They are simply the best, yet they are largely unheralded and it’s not bloody right. Let’s give them the media support they deserve! It's time for the Netball Mums of Australia to draw their (metaphoric) arms. Let’s make the media report on our sport!
Image credit: Australian Diamonds https://diamonds.netball.com.au
