Carlton Football Club has taken swift action against a podcast host after he made a disgusting comment about the club's female-focused fan group, the Besties. The podcast, hosted by Carlton supporters but not officially linked to the club, saw a clip go viral for all the wrong reasons during the week.
Details of the Incident
Host Rocco Stagnitti said he would "punch the f*** out of the Besties" while discussing a charity boxing match between content creators. His three other male panellists burst into laughter. Stagnitti said, "Name one creator out there that I wouldn't beat up," before making the sickening comment. As his mates suggested other content creators, he added, "But anyone else … I'd punch the f*** out of the Besties." One panelist responded, "There you go, Respects Round, mate, right there, Respects Round mate."
Club's Response
Carlton did not waste time in investigating the incident as fans called out the "toxic masculine energy." The club revoked the membership of the podcast host until at least the end of the season. All four individuals and anyone who contributes to the program have been offered access to "respect" education.
"Football should be a place for everyone to enjoy a sense of community and belonging," Carlton said in a statement. "The segment was abhorrent and in no way reflective of the values of the Carlton Football Club or the wider Carlton community, who have, and continue to be, incredibly supportive of the club's commitment to raising awareness around the prevention of violence. Violence against women is never acceptable, and content of this nature reinforces why education around respectful relationships remains so important, which the club remains committed to supporting."
Reactions from AFL Journalists
Several high-profile AFL journalists and experts have been appalled by the vile comment. Channel 7's Kate McCarthy said, "Footy is not YOUR SPACE bro. And we are well past putting violence against women down to 'boys being boys.' Grow up." News Corp AFL journalist Lauren Wood said, "Been hard to find the words on this one. But god, we're tired. The silence of the others speaks volumes."
Response from Carlton Besties
The Carlton Besties also responded on Instagram: "A perfect example of why initiatives like @carltonrespects need to exist. Whether a 'content creator boxing match' is a joke or not, violence against women and conversations surrounding the issue should not be mocked." They also noted that this was not the first time the podcast had brought up their group in a derogatory manner.
"For those who aren't already aware, Carlton Respects is Carlton's flagship community initiative, which helps with the promotion of gender equality for the prevention of violence against women," they said. "And for the next two weeks and beyond, as we have the past three years, we will continue to use our platform to highlight this and work alongside Carlton to do our part. This isn't the first time, and I'm sure it's not going to be the last, but this page in particular keeps using us in their content in a negative way, for whatever reason, but this is where we draw the line. We don't mind if you don't like us, we don't mind if you don't like our content. We understand it isn't for everyone. I think it's one thing that it's not even opposition supporters, these are fellow Carlton fans talking about us like this. Can't believe I have to say it, but if you have nothing nice to say, learn to say nothing at all."
