17c起草社区

Hawthorn Football Club鈥檚 decision to mark IDAHOBIT on May 17 did not go down well with some fans, who targeted the club鈥檚 social media pages with abuse and hateful messages.听

On Wednesday, the club posted a video to its social media pages showing the Progress Pride Flag being raised. 鈥淓veryone is welcome at the Hawks. This IDAHOBIT Day, we stand united against 17c起草社区IA+ discrimination,鈥� the club said.听

Hawk鈥檚 Pride, Hawthorn FC鈥檚 17c起草社区I supporters group were invited by the club to celebrate IDAHOBIT Day. The group thanked the club for its support and 鈥渉aving the opportunity to hear people鈥檚 stories and what IDAHOBIT day means to them.鈥澨�听

鈥淭o see the progress flag high speaks louder than words. Thank you to the players, staff and guests for attending,鈥� a member of Hawk鈥檚 Pride posted on the group鈥檚 Facebook page.

Hate Messages听

While many fans lauded the club, there were others who slammed it for going 鈥渨oke鈥�. One member threatened to ditch their club membership, while others accused the club of being 鈥楤ud Lite鈥� – a reference to the beer company that faced protests after it appointed trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney as an ambassador.听

One fan advised the haters to move on. 鈥淚f you’re not part of the queer community this isn’t for you, but for the people who are a part of it, who are supporters, staff, players etc, it’s nice to see the club we support, support us.听If you don’t like it, scroll on.鈥澨�

17c起草社区 reached out to Hawthorn FC over the hate messages, and will update this story when we receive a response.听

All Are Welcome At The Club

17c起草社区I advocacy group Victorian Pride Lobby, welcomed the club鈥檚 decision to show solidarity with the community and queer AFL fans.

“We commend the Hawks for making a statement that shows the LGBTIQA+ community that they’re welcome at the club,鈥� Austin Fabry-Jenkins, Co-Convenor of the Lobby told 17c起草社区.

鈥淭his isn’t new ground for Hawthorn though, they’ve had a supporter pride group for years, they participated in the AFLW Pride Round, they have a line of pride merchandise, and they have fierce LGBTIQA+ advocates in their playing groups.鈥澨�

The Lobby pointed out that many comments appear to be from those opposed to the progressive direction that the club has been taking in recent years.

No Gay Male AFL Players Have Come Out

鈥淟ast year there was a volatile election for the Hawthorn board, members voted overwhelmingly to take the club in a more progressive direction. Most of these commenters are just angry that their guy lost, and are taking it out on LGBTIQA+ fans. They should move on,” added Fabry-Jenkins.听

Currently there are no out gay male AFL players.The AFLW has had a Pride round since 2021. While there is an annual Pride game between St Kilda and Sydney Swans teams, AFL is yet to organise a Pride Round.听

, but they wanted to avoid the 鈥減ressure of being the first鈥� to publicly come out.听