A player suspended, a Pride match bumped: Is the AFL doing more harm than good?

A player suspended, a Pride match bumped: Is the AFL doing more harm than good?

From The Morning Edition by The Age and Sydney Morning Herald

June 2, 2026 · 18 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the implications of a canceled Pride match in the AFL due to a scandal and the role of homophobic language in sports.

This weekend, there was supposed to be a special game played between the Sydney Swans and St Kilda. It was the teams' annual Pride match, in which the players would wear rainbow jerseys and celebrate diversity, the aim being to boost inclusivity for LGBTQ fans. But for the first time in a decade, because of a far-reaching  scandal involving Saints player Lance Collard , the Pride match was scrapped. Sydney opted to play the game against a different side, at a different time. Today special correspondent Stephen Brook discusses the role that homophobic slurs play in footy and  why the code’s attempts at cracking down on hate may be backfiring . And just a heads-up, this episode contains offensive language. Background reading The question that exposed a massive flaw in the AFL’s fight against homophobia . Not much pride in the AFL’s LGBTQI+ efforts . Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Guest: Stephen Brook

Topics covered

  • AFL
  • Pride match
  • homophobia
  • LGBTQ inclusivity
  • sports scandal

Keywords

  • AFL
  • Pride match
  • Lance Collard
  • homophobia
  • LGBTQ inclusivity

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Sydney Swans, St Kilda, AFL, LGBTQI+

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