Former AFLW All Australian and media commentator Kate McCarthy has become emotional while expressing gratitude to the AFL community for its overwhelming support during a challenging week, revealing she had been "questioning my place in the game" but now feels "exactly where I need to be".
McCarthy's Statement on Gender-Based Abuse
On Tuesday, McCarthy released a statement via Channel 7 and Triple M, slamming incessant online attacks based on her gender. The 2022 retiree, who quickly became a prominent football analyst, said she was "so f***ing sick of being abused for having an opinion on football" with most abuse stemming from her being a woman.
She described the relentless trolling as a daily occurrence: "When it happens every f***ing day/week it takes a toll." McCarthy stressed she has the right to present fair and balanced opinions and called for respectful debate, adding: "Social media isn't a licence to abuse people and hide behind a keyboard."
Support from Colleagues and Community
Channel 7's The Agenda Setters panellists Dale Thomas and Kane Cornes publicly championed their colleague, with support pouring in from across the football world. Speaking on Triple M on Thursday, McCarthy said the week "started out not on the best of terms" but she is now going "very, very well".
She detailed the triggering incident: after playing golf on Monday, she returned to her phone to find "comment after comment after comment all about my gender and nothing to do with what I was talking about". The comments claimed women have made football worse, which McCarthy vehemently rejected: "Football is not worse off because we have women in the game. Like, come on."
Emotional Gratitude and Reflection
Fighting back tears, McCarthy said the support has been "the most incredible thing that I've experienced in the AFL community". She paused to compose herself: "It has been so overwhelming in the best of ways. I think a week that started out where I was really questioning my place in the game and my place as an analyst in football has ended up with me feeling like I'm exactly where I need to be."
She emphasised that the supportive voices "are so much louder and so much stronger than the faceless, nameless trolls that are online". McCarthy also thanked the men who spoke out, noting that "women cannot fight this fight alone" and that male advocacy is powerful because "the men who are doing it don't listen to women".
Call for Change and Hope for Future
Triple M's Jack Heverin expressed hope that McCarthy would never again question her place in the game, and directed a message at trolls: "I actually hope that a lot of these people who say this sort of s*** don't have sons, because we can't have another generation of this."
McCarthy concluded on a positive note, saying she is "buoyed" for the future of the AFL community: "The week started off horrifically and it has ended up in the most positive way because I feel like we have made some genuine inroads in this issue that we've got."
