- Izak Rankine facing investigation for alleged incident
Adelaide star Izak Rankine’s season could be over after he allegedly hit an opponent with a homophobic slur during a match – but commentator Caroline Wilson believes the AFL should also be targeting players who target opponents with vile comments about their loved ones.
Rankine, one of the Crows’ top players, is facing a potential ban of five weeks after he was accused of directing an anti-gay insult at a Collingwood opponent in last Saturday night’s big home game.
The three-point win guaranteed Adelaide a top-two finish in their first September appearance since losing the 2017 grand final.
But a lot of the wind came out of the Crows’ sails on Sunday when the allegation emerged, with the AFL quickly becoming involved.
Adelaide will play North Melbourne this weekend and will play from two to four finals, depending on results.
But the AFL has made clear it is determined to stamp out homophobic slurs.
Adelaide star Izak Rankine (pictured) is facing a lengthy suspension for allegedly directing an anti-gay slur at an opponent in the Crows’ match against Collingwood
AFL commentator Caroline Wilson (pictured) noted that players are suspended for homophobic slurs, but not for vile remarks they make about other players’ wives and families
The investigation has provoked plenty of discussion, with footy commentator Caroline Wilson saying she was ‘perplexed’ that it was ‘not OK to make a homophobic slur against a player, and yet some of the comments that have been made to players on the field about their wives and partners, their sisters and children don’t end in suspension’.
In 2022, Brisbane skipper Dayne Zorko made a personal sledge that reduced Melbourne defender Harrison Petty to tears.
The sledge was reportedly along the lines of ‘I hope your mother dies’, and Zorko wasn’t banned for the alleged remark.
Footy great Garry Lyon said that while he doesn’t feel for Rankine, he does have some sympathy for the Crows.
‘That’s a worst case scenario for any club. I have no sympathy for him. I understand how it happens I understand that, this is not sympathy for Izak, this is sympathy for the Adelaide Football Club,’ he said on Fox Footy’s AFL 360.
‘They are premiership favourites for a reason, they have a city behind them and now, fighting fit, they have Izak Rankine sitting in the stands for a final.’
West Coast’s Jack Graham was banned for four games last month after he self-reported an anti-gay comment he made to a GWS opponent.
Last year, Gold Coast’s Wil Powell was suspended for five matches and Port Adelaide’s Jeremy Finlayson served a three-game ban for using anti-gay slurs on the field.
Precedence strongly suggests that if the AFL finds that Rankine has a case to answer, he will be out for at least four matches, with a five-game ban a definite possibility.
Gold Coast’s Wil Powell (pictured) served a five-match ban last year for making a homophobic slur during a match
Rankine was unsighted at Adelaide’s West Lakes headquarters on Monday. He and club officials met with the AFL’s integrity unit during the day.
Suns coach Damien Hardwick expressed concern on Monday night that while homophobic slurs had no place in the game, the punishments being handed out might be too severe.
‘We can have a player that belts a guy in the jaw and will get maybe five weeks and then we used a term – which, once again, I don’t condone the behaviour,’ Hardwick told AFL360.
‘But I think we’ve painted ourselves in a corner with regards to the penalty and length of penalty.’
