Current AFL Players with a Multicultural Background
The table below is taken directly from the AFL's community website. It purports to show the diverse nature of AFL participation. I think it does just the opposite. Leaving aside the utter stupidity of creating two kinds of people: multicutural and (presumably) monocultural, the table indicates to me the paucity of diversity in AFL ranks.
As a number of correspondents have noted, the table is poorly constructed -- and may even undersell AFL's diversity credentials by failing to pick up some relevant players.
As a number of correspondents have noted, the table is poorly constructed -- and may even undersell AFL's diversity credentials by failing to pick up some relevant players.
Rather than 'multicultural' the AFL needs to use a different term to cover players whose ancestry is non-Anglo-Saxon, Anglo Celtic, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (NASACATSI). The difficulty of coming up with accurate terminology is discussed by the Multicultural NSW website.
It is worth noting that some players in the table below are either not NASACATSI or are borderline.
- Those born in Australian with one parent born in Australia and the other in a commonwealth country or USA
- Those born in Australia with both parents born in an anglophone country
- Those born overseas to Australian parents
Other players are:
- Those born overseas to non-Australian anglophone parents
- Those born in Australia (or overseas when their parents were playing/working/coaching in the short term) with one parent born in Australia and the other in a non-anglophone country
- Those born in Australia with both parents born in a non-anglophone country
- Some adult recruits from other sports (these are bolded in red)
These 38 players fall into a category of possibly-to-probably having NASACATSI elements to their background. I have left them as plain text.
The final grouping is those with clear NASACATSI heritage. These I have bolded in blue. These are 14 players out of a total player pool of 811.
Please feel free to challenge and correct any assumption I have made.
Responses
Much maligned arwon @Arwon has made the point that I had mistakenly given Australian parents to some of the adult OS recruits. This either has been corrected or is in the process of being fixed. He also felt that this should represent its own category.
Please feel free to challenge and correct any assumption I have made.
Responses
Much maligned arwon @Arwon has made the point that I had mistakenly given Australian parents to some of the adult OS recruits. This either has been corrected or is in the process of being fixed. He also felt that this should represent its own category.
BrodieSmithNoYesEnglandScotlandNathanVan BerloNoYesNew ZealandNew ZealandMitchellGolbyNoYesEnglandWales Ireland RyanHarwoodNoYesEnglandRyanLesterNoYesEnglandSouth AfricaMatthewLeuenbergerNoYesSwitzerlandJordanBourkeNoYesEnglandSamDochertyNoYesScotlandMatthewDickYesScotlandYesScotlandTimBroomheadNoYesEnglandUSA USA SteeleSidebottomNoYesEnglandMarleyWilliamsNoYesNew ZealandMarkBaguleyNoYesEnglandZacharyClarkeNoYesUSAIreland Ireland GarrickIbbotsonNoYesEnglandChrisMayneNoYesEnglandIreland Ireland TomNichollsNoYesFijiDannyStanleyNoYesEnglandAaronHallNoYesFijiPhilDavisNoYesEnglandLachieWhitfieldNoYesEnglandRhysPalmerNoYesScotlandStephenConiglioNoYesEnglandSamMitchellNoYesNew ZealandLiamShielsNoYesIrelandMaxGawnNoYesNew ZealandNew ZealandJackWattsNoYesEnglandEnglandAndrewSwallowNoYesEnglandUSA USA CameronO'SheaNoYesIrelandJasperPittardNoYesNew ZealandPaulStewartNoYesScotlandMasonShawNoYesEnglandScotlandAaronYoungNoYesEnglandScotlandJakeBatchelorNoYesWalesMatthewMcDonoughNoYesEnglandShaunHampsonNoYesEnglandFarrenRayNoYesEnglandUSA USA CameronShentonNoYesEnglandHeathGrundyNoYesNew ZealandJarradMcVeighNoYesEnglandBrandonJackYesEnglandNoZacJonesNoYesIrelandIrelandJackDarlingNoYesSouth AfricaBrantColledgeYesFranceNoTomBoydNoYesDenmarkAustralian
Hi Ian, nice attempt to deconstruct this material with limited information to go on. There does need to be debate and greater clarity around what 'multicultural' means when sport organisations like the AFL use it to describe player or fan base. A commitment TO multiculturalism is laudable (unless you happen to prefer an assimilationist model), but even then what is being claimed tends to be rather vague.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the player profiles, I'd actually prefer individuals to tell their stories as o/seas or local born, or if/how their ancestry has actually shaped their lives. This is more tangible than names on a spreadsheet. Obviously many players have no sense of 'being' part of a diverse or intercultural background. For them Multicultural Round ought to really be a learning experience - hearing the stories of team mates who have taken a very different path to them by way of ancestry, language and culture. Given that the proportions claimed by the AFL are about 1 in 10 players with 'multicultural' backgrounds, the 'mainstream' footballers are the overwhelming majority.
How people (in this case footballers) are seen (or see themselves) in terms of a multicultural society is a potentially important discussion that needs a much longer response than this. For example, anyone born overseas in this list would appear, at least to me, to have some basis for claiming to be what we used to call a 'new Australian', and thus someone who is acclimatising to a new culture, society, etc.
On that basis I'm not sure why Canadian Mike Pyke doesn't make the cut, or Eric Wallace and Jason Holmes from the US. Unless they came to Australia as children (which doesn't apply in these cases). Also, how some people self-identify - notwithstanding being Australian born is obviously important. For example, the AFL data fails to mention Stephen Cognilio's Italian heritage (he's also Catholic and does the sign of the cross before a game). http://www.gwsgiants.com.au/news/2014-02-03/coniglio-appointed-multicultural-ambassador And I'd be surprised if Aaron Hall and Tom Nichols had no affiliation with their Fijian heritage. Just about anyone who has Pasifika ancestry has powerful family connections to the homeland. And Marley Williams, though born in WA, has a strong Maori lineage, about which he is vocal http://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/news/2011-12-13/meet-marley-williams
Sorry if I sound like I'm cherry picking ... you've made a good start on this. What is needed is something way more substantial than what the AFL has rather simplistically put together - and they've also made errors. Multiculturalism, diversity, whatever you want to call it in sport is far too important to be left to marketers. What is needed is some leadership on this issue by the Australian Sports Commission, which ought to be providing guidelines for sport organisations about how to 'measure' their participation and elite playing ranks in terms of stated goals of inclusion.
Cheers for now, Daryl
Ian, every time I watch a game I'm now playing your game :-) - wondering which players might be genuinely classified as having non-Australian or diverse heritage, or however we want to describe it. Touk Miller of the GCS caught my eye. A 19 year old who is new to the team. Has an African-American father. http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/afl/afl-draft-2014-touk-miller-a-steal-for-gold-coast-suns/story-fnia415y-1227138661745
ReplyDeleteWill keep posting if I notice anything. It seems to me that the AFL list above is well out of date (and needs debate about criteria for inclusion).
Cheers, Daryl