Fans Are Ropable Over The Carlton Footy Club’s Pissweak Statement On SSM

As far as corporate statements on marriage equality go, arguably none have been as baffling and befuddling as the one issued by the Carlton Football Club yesterday, and footy fans are intensely pissed off about it.

Early yesterday morning, the Blues’ AFLW superstar Darcy Vescio stood side-by-side with male playing colleagues and league officials as part of the AFL‘s official backing of the Yes campaign.

A few hours later, for reasons that are still completely unknown, Carlton issued an intensely curious official statement on the issue. It read, in full, as follows:

The Carlton Football Club prides itself on being inclusive, and a leader in engendering equality and a deep sense of belonging.

The issue of ‘same sex marriage’ is essentially one of equality; and so the Club encourages all of its people to have their say in this important national vote.

As a Club, we respect that this is about personal choice, and as such don’t intend to campaign on the issue, but we do strongly reinforce our Club’s absolute commitment to equality – and a community that is free from any form of discrimination.

Given one of their star players literally endorsed the league’s overarching seal of approval a few hours earlier, that statement is at best intensely weird, and at worst a weak-willed, moronic each-way bet that serves only to embolden No voters associated with the club (perhaps more specifically, No voters *with money* associated with the club).

Needless to say, fans – and more importantly members – of the club are beyond furious.

https://twitter.com/JamColley/status/910382561313964033

https://twitter.com/wishart88/status/910366132628049921

Even former Carlton player Michael Jamison has slammed his old club for the extremely middling statement.

Now, no one’s suggesting that any club who backs Yes is saying its members can’t vote the way they want to. But to not even have the spine to publicly back one of its star players mere hours after she is welcomed in by the league itself is unconscionable.

The only way to be truly “divisive” on this issue is to aim for right down the middle.

The Blues had a chance to back one of their own and embrace all their fans at the same time. On this, for lack of a better term, they fucked it.

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