Rugby League: society writ small

The racism and sexism controversy in rugby league is a window into the soul of Australian society. The result is both ugly and inspiring.

Ugly because the crimson thread of racism and sexism run through our body politic and major limbs of society, And inspiring because Timana Tahu and the millions who support him show that we want to destroy this rotten cancer on our nation.

Timana Tahu is a hero for walking out on his football team, New South Wales.

Why did he do it? Because the assistant coach and former super star Andrew Johns called Greg Inglis, one of the Queensland players, a black c*nt.

Timana is an Aborigine and proud of his heritage. Inglis is a close friend.

Tahu decided to take a stand against racism, racism that is not only endemic to rugby league but to Australian society.

As I have argued on this site, Australia is founded on two forms of racism - racism against the original inhabitants and racism against non-whites coming to the country. It is this crimson thread of racism that runs through our body politic and major sections of society even today.

Tahu is leading a fightback. Here’s part of what he said:

Leaving Origin was a really big decision for me and I’d like to clarify that it was not just one racial comment directed at one individual that offended me.

The remarks were directed at various races and the situation I encountered was totally unacceptable.

I believe I am a role model for children and I did this to show my kids this type of behaviour is wrong.

This isn’t about me or Andrew Johns, it’s about arresting racism and standing up for my beliefs.

How could it be that in game where more than 30 per cent of players are of Pacific Islander descent and 11 per cent are Indigenous that racism could be so endemic?

First, it is not the players who have any power in the game. They are the playthings of big media interests like Channel 9 and Fox Sports (part owned by News Limited). The concern of these companies is money, not equality or justice.

Second, Islanders and Aborigines, especially, are denied access to any real positions of power in our white ruling class run society. They are at the bottom of the economic and political ladder. Indeed how many Aboriginal or Islander people run the game?

Why didn't the League respond immediately? Why doesn't it clean up its tawdry reputation with a major campaign against racism?

For many boys from Indigenous or Islander backgrounds rugby league is about the only way to escape a life of menial jobs, poor housing, poor education and poor health, all results imposed on them by the structures of capitalism.

Third, such racist and sexist words are common place among large sections of the working class. They represent the degeneration of capitalist society. They are an expression of powerlessness and alienation.

By denigrating others we somehow think we empower ourselves.

Fourth, the very culture of rugby league (and I would guess all other male professional team sports) is to see women and the powerless as inferior to the all conquering man hero, mostly a white male hero or the image of a white man at that.

Tahu is leading the fightback. Other Indigenous and Islander players must join him to help stamp out this cancer on our society.

But it goes further than that. Racism is an integral part of a capitalist society like Australia. The Rudd Labor Government is spreading racism and reinforcing its acceptability with its demonisation of refugees and its intervention in the Northern Territory targeting Aborigines. The fight against racism in Rugby League must be the fight against racism in society, and against Labor’s racist policies on Aborigines and refugees.

Aboriginal and Islander footballers, indeed all footballers, could help the fight against racism in rugby league by joining the demonstrations for refugees around Australia this weekend.

Meanwhile, Channel 9 employs Johns as a sideline commentator (and not a very good one.) They are standing by their man. This is not surprising.

Last year Channel 9 sacked Andrew Johns’ brother, Matty Johns, after it became clear he and a number of other Cronulla players had had sex with a young woman in New Zealand. She claimed she did not consent. He claimed she did.

A few months later Channel 7 swooped and now Matty Johns heads a very successful football show for them. The woman’s life is in ruins.

So obviously in the cut throat footy ratings duel between Channels 9 and 7, and in the positioning for future rights to televise games, Channel 9 doesn’t want to cut Andrew loose for fear he might end up with his brother on their competitor’s show. That’s real principle.

But there is something else deeply disturbing about all of this. Andrew Johns’ referred to Inglis not only by the colour of his skin but by reference to a woman’s vagina. According to Inga Miscio, “contained in that one [word] is a whole history of misogyny”. Yet where is the outrage about Johns’ sexism, his use of a derogatory word drawn from female genitalia, to describe another human being? There is none.

Would it have been OK for Johns just to refer to Inglis by an incredibly offensive and derogatory term for female genitalia? Apparently, given the lack of reaction to the use of the word. The outrage against the racism is laudable. But the lack of any questioning of the sexism, let alone any understanding that the term is sexist, indicates that sexism is as ingrained into our society as racism.

Rugby League has a Women in League Program, in part as a response to the outrage women felt about Matty Johns and the gang bang in New Zealand. Here’s what the NRL website says about it:

Rugby League’s Women in League program is about recognising and rewarding the important role that women play in the game.

Women and girls are an important part of the rugby league family. From players, to coaches, match officials, volunteers, first aid officers, managers and much more, women and girls play an integral role to the code in this country.

But not important enough apparently to stop the sort of denigration of women Johns unleashed the other night, a denigration apparently so ingrained that it goes unremarked by any league official.

It’s not just up to Tahu and other Indigenous and Islander players to take a stand. It’s time for all of us, and the players, the women of league and other supporters, to reclaim our game. If we can't then we need to think about walking away from a game totally mired in racism and sexism.

But even more importantly, those within Rugby League who want to fight sexism and racism must understand that these cancers pervade capitalist society. Your fight is our fight. Come join with us in the struggle against racism and sexism in society generally.