‘Just a joke’? Gendered commentary on women’s sport is unnecessary and damaging | Megan Maurice | OneFootball

“It was just a joke.”

How many times have those words been uttered over the years after self-proclaimed “good blokes” slip up and make comments that appear to reveal their real views. By now, many thousands of words have been written about Triple M presenter Marty Sheargold and his “joke that missed the mark” about the Matildas. However, it is the attitudes that this “joke” represent that are most interesting to examine.

Much of the backlash after former Hockeyroo Rosie Malone posted a clip from Sheargold’s show on Instagram was from people expressing shock that this kind of attitude still exists in 2025. There was a sense – particularly after the success of the Women’s World Cup on home soil in 2023 – that women’s sport had finally overcome the last of its barriers.

But comments like this bring to light the very real beliefs that lie just below the surface, ready to unveil themselves as soon as women have the nerve to put out a subpar performance. It only takes a quick perusal of the comments sections of news websites and social media channels when articles are posted about women’s sport to see “jokes” like Sheargold’s rear their head multiple times.

While many people assume these beliefs are held only by a minority of older men – dinosaurs who cannot move with the times while the rest of us have evolved – instances like this expose the widespread nature of these opinions. And while they may seem out of touch, these opinions persist because they are held up by the actions of those in power.

When women are still paid a fraction of what their male counterparts receive. When the competitions they play in have a W attached to their names, while the men’s competitions are viewed as the default. When the media coverage women’s sport receives is meagre compared to men. All of these serve to reinforce the beliefs of these dinosaurs that men’s sport remains the pinnacle and women are merely minor players.

None of this is to say that women are above criticism. No doubt the Matildas themselves would understand the valid critique that has been levelled at them for their losses thus far in the SheBelieves Cup. There are many analytical, well thought-out articles that have been published over the last week which have not drawn this ire.

The issue comes from the fact that these comments from Sheargold were so unnecessarily gendered. By comparing the team to Year 10 girls, he draws on societal attitudes that girls and girlishness are instinctively laughable and unserious. There is a long history of society not taking girls seriously – from mocking the kind of music they like and the books they read, to the way they speak, run and throw. By putting the Matildas into the realm of “girls”, Sheargold was trying to – whether consciously or unconsciously – take away the little power they had earned after dragging women’s sport into the spotlight.

It is particularly worrying that this comparison to girls is seen as so naturally derogatory, further solidifying the notion that the very idea of girls playing sport is comical. As Melbourne AFLW player Saraid Taylor noted on Instagram, year 10 is when girls are around 15 years old, which is precisely the age when many girls stop playing sport. With concerted efforts being made to keep girls participating in sport – whether or not they may be future Matildas or simply lifelong grassroots participants – it is disheartening to see this persistent idea be allowed to flourish.

Commentary like Sheargold’s is one of the reasons why those who are deeply embedded in women’s sport are so wary of outsiders whose first move is to come in with condemnation. Because it quickly becomes gendered – it is not simply a poor performance by a team or individual, it is a demonstration that women are simply not suited to the tough landscape of sport. It gives rise to “jokes” that have wider consequences for the health and wellbeing of teenage girls when they continue to drop out of sport because their very presence there is seen as farcical.

Women’s sport has no doubt made great strides in the past few years, but the battle for equality is far from over. While Sheargold no longer has a role with Triple M, it is unlikely judging from the “apology” he issued that his attitude has changed. And while these attitudes persist, there is more work to be done to ensure women’s sport is taken as seriously as men’s sport – and more broadly that girls and women are taken as seriously as boys and men. It is up to all of us to continue to push back and make it clear that “jokes” like these don’t simply “miss the mark”. They are landing in an entirely different stadium and it is one that is about to be demolished.

Header image: [Photograph: Mark J Rebilas/USA Today Sports]