Sam Newman: The Jig Is Up, You’re The Embarrassment
As the door slams on Eddie McGuire, another one opens: this time, allowing Sam Newman to take centre stage for some more outdated, misogynistic and backward opinions that nobody asked for.
By now, we all know the saga of Eddie McGuire, President of the Collingwood Football Club and also attendee of the AFL’s ‘White Ribbon Round’ against domestic violence, gleefully voicing his desire to see a prominent Fairfax female journalist drowned for money.
Over the past few days, there has been much discussion about how women are treated at the hands of those who are heavily embedded in the ‘boys club’ mentality of the football community. We have seen positive growth in many areas, including the Richmond Football Club deciding to boycott all media commitments with Triple M this weekend (where the comments first aired). There has been condemnation pouring in, from Jessica Rowe (who knows first-hand how vehement and hurtful the opinions of Eddie McGuire can be), asking for donations to the White Ribbon foundation, and from many women and men around the nation.
Caroline Wilson voiced her hurt and disgust at the verbal attack, and even Holden had many black and white hearts racing as they threatened to withdraw sponsorship over the comments. But one voice was missing from the furore, until last night when he gave the psychotic ramble that no one wanted to hear.
Sam Newman has always been a supporter of Caroline Wilson – remember when he put her face on a mannequin and groped her? Last night, on the critically-ACCLAIMED Footy Show, Sam Newman managed to continue his streak of fighting for female liberation by calling Caroline Wilson an ’embarrassment’ for her reaction to hearing that some prominent men in the football world wanted to pay money to see her drowned.
Channel Nine
Newman then took it one better, by saying what I’m sure will go down in the history of the feminist movement: “If you’re going to want to be treated equally, the point is, don’t complain when it’s too equal.” I’m going to repeat that for those sitting in the back: IF YOU’RE A FEMALE AND YOU WANT EQUALITY, DON’T BE OFFENDED WHEN SOME MEN THREATEN TO DROWN YOU FOR MONEY.
“The jig is up…and even if you were underwater, you’d still be talking.” Sam Newman said that, on live television, then followed it up by saying the anyone who took offence at McGuire’s original comments are “cowardly excretement.” Which is more polite than he usually is. He also made a point to say that anyone who had written anything or presented a view about how they were offended by the comments “nobody reads or listens to them because they are on second-tier media outlets.” Shoutout to The Age, the ABC, and even us! Thanks for the ranking system of Australian media, Mr. Newman. I’m assuming that the only publications that make it into your coveted ‘first tier’ are the ones who agree with you? Because even you would be hard pressed to find them today.
In the past, Sam Newman has called women “hysterical desperados.” He has made it clear that he believes they contribute absolutely nothing to football – “Tell me what they’ve ever done in football, or for football, tell me that.” He has shown his distaste for powerful women: “they serve very little purpose at board level.” He has even said, of a woman who alleged that a footballer had been violent toward her, “that it was just extended foreplay.” This is a man who is on television, who is on a prominent time slot, and frighteningly enough, is considering running for Lord Mayor of Melbourne, on an anti politically correct platform.
Many have already learned to tune him out, and to ignore his old and disgusting views upon females, but enough is enough. There is a nation of young men, growing up playing our national sport, thinking that disrespect will be tolerated. This week, a number of notable public figures have done us a favour and shown us the type of man they are: and they are not men at all.
To degrade and demean a women in the name of ‘equality’ is missing the point entirely. Calling a woman an embarrassment does nothing but highlight the obvious irony – that it’s time for Sam Newman to just give it up, The jig is up, Sam.
Header image via Channel Nine