SBS replays Footy Chicks as debate rages

Yesterday’s comments by Kerri-Anne Kennerley were undoubtedly a PR headache for the Nine Network.

What do you do when one of your on-air personalities makes a divisive statement on an issue in which only some of the facts are evident? Defend them? Distance yourself from them? It’s a lose / lose situation.

Kennerley said of the alleged AFL sex story, “But they put themselves in harm’s way by picking up strays,” adding, “Girls have been throwing themselves at sports people for years.”

Following ‘Spida’ Everitt’s Twitter remarks on Tuesday, the Nine host soon found she had become part of the story and more headlines followed.

Nine first told media: “What she was speaking to Spida about was the fact that, not one party can be blamed for this. The responsibility lies with the girls as well as with the guys when you’re talking about alcohol-fuelled situations at three o’clock in the morning.”

But the Nine spokesperson had mistakenly assumed an awful lot, and like many remarks, neglected to put enough context on the situation.

As The Age’s John Silvester pointed out yesterday, “The facts as known are simple. A young traumatised woman has told police she was raped. Experienced detectives used to dealing with sexual assault victims found her credible.”

So was Nine standing with Kennerley on her line about strays, or should it have distanced itself? At a time when it is still establishing a channel aimed at women over the age of 35, it was an unclear, awkward response.

By the end of the day it qualified the comment with a further Press Release: “The above statement was by no means meant to play down the very serious allegations of rape and domestic violence. It was in reference to a small segment of the conversation between Spida and Kerri-Anne.”

Whether that means it agrees with its morning host or not remains unclear, but it was happy to put the story in its News bulletins, this time with both “for” and “against” arguments. While Kerri-Anne was sticking to her guns, NSW Rape Crisis Centre spokeswoman Karen Willis said, “This idea that how a person dresses or behaves or whether or not they’ve had a drink and therefore that indicates that somehow they’re asking for it or deserve to be sexually assaulted — I really thought we’ve moved past that.”

Today Felicity Harley, wife of former Geelong player turned Seven commentator Tom Harley, said the comments were off the cuff, but very stupid.

“There are a lot of women (in football circles) who are educated and definitely not stray. I wasn’t attracted to Tom because he was a footballer, but who he was as a person,” she told the Herald Sun.

In contrast to Nine’s botched handling of the comments, Seven, which actually airs Everitt’s travel show on 7TWO, hasn’t fallen into the same trap as commenting on the matter. It has carefully remained silent.

That said, the show isn’t in the same league as Nine’s long-term star. It is a buy-in show airing on a Saturday arvo.

Finally, by complete coincidence, SBS is replaying the 2006 documentary Footy Chicks (pictured) tomorrow night. It was scheduled before any of this furore broke.

Explores the footballers’ scene off the footy field – a colourful world of sex, male bonding and the women who pursue them. Both the women and the players candidly reveal how it can be a fun, alluring and sometimes dangerous game. Erika’s approach to potential targets is carried out with a ruthless and predatory strategy. Christie’s first boyfriend in high school was a player for the Sydney Swans. Most of her dating life has revolved around the AFL scene. For her the scene is all about being seen in the right places with the right players.

It airs at 10pm on SBS ONE.