The Cronulla Sharks have apologised for posting an ad for an important position with the club’s women’s team after Channel Nine star Marlee Silva slammed the inclusion of two controversial words.
The Sharks listed a job for an assistant physiotherapist to work with their NRLW side – but it said the position was a ‘volunteer position’ despite the successful applicant needing a health degree and being required to attend multiple training sessions per week and work at games.
Now the club have apologised for the ad, which has also drawn criticism from the Australian Physiotherapy Association.
Sharks CEO Dino Mezzatesta said the job was always meant to be paid employment but it was tagged ‘volunteer position’ due to an error in the way it was posted to the website Sportspeople.
‘We can put our hand up and apologise,’ he told News Corp.
‘I can understand why people are a little bit disappointed and are questioning it, and I sympathise with that, but we want to be clear, it’s an honorarium role.’
Channel Nine footy reporter Marlee Silva (pictured) has slammed a Cronulla Sharks job ad seeking a physiotherapist for the club’s NRLW team
The job ad (pictured) listed the vacancy as a ‘volunteer position’ despite seeking a highly qualified health professional who would have to work long hours
Those two words also attracted criticism from the Australian Physiotherapy Association
An honorarium is a token payment or honorary reward made to an employee who would otherwise be a volunteer.
Silva – who covers the NRL for Nine – lashed out over the ad on Instagram.
‘Lot of people upset at the moment because there has been this job advertised for an NRLW team that is for a physio, and it is listed as a volunteer position,’ she said over a sound effect of people booing.
‘Some people are really shocked by that – an allied health professional expected to work for nothing.
‘This is not new. There are many instances within the NRLW where there are roles that are unpaid or underpaid and are not considered full-time from a pay scale, but the workload is certainly at the full-time end of the spectrum.
‘I think this is why it’s so important to listen to players when it comes to what they say about where the game is, what needs to be done next in terms of making sure there’s gender equality.’
Silva then said every NRLW employee should be paid full-time and at the same level as their counterparts in the men’s game.
The APA said the ad was a ‘serious issue’, with the body claiming the pay situation isn’t fair in relation to the responsibilities the position holds.
A women’s rugby league fan account also blasted the ad
Cronulla’s NRLW team features one of the league’s best-known and brightest stars, NSW and Jillaroos back Tiana Penitani (pictured)
The Sharks have apologised for the ad and said the words ‘volunteer position’ appeared on it due to an error
Brian Seeney, the physiotherapist behind the popular NRL Physio X account, posted a letter from the APA announcing the body’s plans to write a letter to the Sharks protesting about the ad.
He also wrote, ‘NRLW players and the therapists deserve way better than this.’
‘In the last 24 hours, several members have contacted us to express their disappointment at a job advertisement for a voluntary physiotherapist role with the NRLW Cronulla Sharks team,’ the letter explains.
‘This position comes with significant responsibilities and a substantial time commitment, and is not the type of position that we would expect to be a volunteer position.’
The job advertisement includes responsibilities that require applicants to ‘assist in planning and delivering suitable treatment, rehabilitation, strength and conditioning programmes for players recovering from injury.’
Applicants must also provide regular reports of injured players and are requested to attend ‘three to four training sessions per week as well as competition matches’.
The APA also notes that the advert has been altered to include the honorarium but states that the body are preparing a letter to send to the Cronulla Sharks over the matter which they also referred to as a ‘serious issue’.
‘Physiotherapists play a vital role in sport and it’s important that contribution is recognised through appropriate remuneration,’ the APA added.
A women’s rugby league fan account, The Full Time Sirens, also published its opposition to the advertisement.
‘With women’s sport in Australia on the rise and participation across the board on the rise, we must be at a point where valuing and regarding the next generation of females in sport deserves more than basic volunteer roles, especially when you consider the work required and the magnitude of such roles?’ they wrote.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted both the Cronulla Sharks and the APA for comment.
