Snoop Dogg will do a ‘great job’ as the headline act for the Grand Final entertainment, with the AFL unmoved by the controversy around him, according to the league’s CEO Andrew Dillon.
The reaction to the choice of the American rapper has been largely negative, but the AFL chief, Dillon, is adamant about the decision to hire the US rapper.
‘What I’m looking forward to over the next four weeks is the most important nine games of the year,’ Dillon told journalists on Monday.
‘Then we’ll get to the last Saturday in September and we’ll have the two best teams there.
‘The Grand Final entertainment will add to what will be an amazing spectacle … it will be at a level that we haven’t seen for a long time, he’ll do a great job.’
Dillon was speaking at the launch of the AFL finals series, which opens on Thursday night at Adelaide Oval when the Crows host Collingwood.
AFL CEO Andrew Dillon (pictured) has brushed off criticism around the league’s decision to hire Snoop Dogg as it’s Grand Final entertainment
The league copped flack after it announced that Snoop Dogg (pictured) would be performing at the event with many noting that the US rapper had previously made controversial comments about the LGBTQIA+ community
There will be plenty of feeling, especially given Adelaide star Izak Rankine is banned for four games after a homophobic slur towards a Magpies opponent.
The AFL has been criticised for opting to hire the American rapper due to his use of derogatory language in the past in relation to members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
The US rapper has a 1998 hit called ‘Doggz Gonna Get Ya’ which uses the same slur Rankine is believed to have said to a Collingwood player – ‘f****t’.
Snoop Dogg’s official announcement has caused some division among AFL fans. Some have argued that he should not be allowed to play at the AFL Grand Final. Others have branded those calls to cancel the US rapper ‘woke’.
‘People need to stop being so damned butt***t over someone else’s opinion! We all have one, just get on with it!’ one person wrote online.
‘Couldn’t care less if Snoop Dog appears or not, the AFL weren’t exactly trying to cater for ‘all’ their fans were they?’ another chimed in.
Dillon would not be drawn on whether there will be extra crowd security at the game.
‘There will be a lot of passion in the crowd, but we have the best fans in the world,’ he said.
The AFL has a zero tolerance on homophobia. Snoop Dogg’s announcement came as Crows player Izak Rankine (pictured) was handed a four-match suspension for making a homophobic comment to a Collingwood player
Hawthorn great Luke Hodge will present the Norm Smith Medal to the player voted best on the ground.
West Coast’s 2018 premiership coach Adam Simpson will present the Jock McHale Medal to the winning coach, while Essendon’s Ken Fraser will have the duties with the Ron Barassi Medal for the winning captain.
Retired Richmond star Jack Riewoldt is the premiership cup ambassador.
Dillon was also asked about last weekend’s pre-finals bye, with some discussion that it should be moved to the weekend before the Grand Final.
‘It’s really served the game well. It allows the teams who are in the eight to really set themselves,’ he said.
‘I’m comfortable with where it is at the moment.
‘We’re always looking at the structure of our season – obviously we’ll look at it.
‘But … it does open up the final eight to be a true final eight, so any team who has made it, has the opportunity if things go their way, to make it to the last Saturday in September.’
Another idea is a pre-finals wildcard round and Dillon acknowledged it has some merit.
‘It would have added a lot to the season, but we just need to hasten slowly. I’m not ruling it in or out,’ he said.
