Netball is soaring despite being shunned by the back page

It’s that time of the year again – time for netball fans to get out their magnifying glasses and search through the papers for the results of the ANZ Netball Championships. Sunday’s grand final between the Adelaide Thunderbirds and the Waikato Magic had everything – the best goal shooter in the world, Australia-New Zealand rivalry and a great narrative with both teams going for their first championship win.

And yet, the game was allocated barely 400 words in The Australian newspaper.

Netball is looking slicker than ever. It has been the most played social sport in Australia for years but with the launch of the ANZ Championships trans-Tasman league in 2008, the game took off at the elite level. Bigger sponsors have allowed more players to become professional and the longer hours in the gym have translated to players who are faster, stronger and more entertaining than ever. Games are being televised in a polished format on One HD with the aid of $400 000 from the Federal Government.

If netball is anything to go by, surely women’s sport is on a positive trajectory. Surely it’s only a matter of time before women’s sport receives the recognition it deserves and features equally amongst the back pages of the paper with the men’s football codes and men’s cricket. However, in the US, sports like women's college basketball have not been able to break through to this level of coverage despite massive crowds and an enormous fan base.

In fact, a recent US study has shown that over the last ten years coverage of women’s sport has actually decreased. The researchers recorded amount of time evening news programs spent reporting on women’s sport. They found that the time allocated to women’s sport decreased from 8.7% of all sports coverage in 1999 to around 1.6% in 2009. The recorded coverage even included instances when female partners of male sports stars were mentioned.

Coverage of women’s sport prior to 1999 had been increasing steadily and few people would have expected the drop seen in the last ten years.

The report is shocking and the owners of the media outlets around the world who continue to shun women’s sport should be ashamed. Fans of women’s sport and opponents of women’s oppression have a long fight ahead. The undeniable sexism that exists in areas like women’s sport will not automatically disappear. In fact the US study has shown that without added pressure on the owners of news networks women’s sport could tragically lose ground.

Howard chalks up another election defeat at the ICC

For those of us who thought we’d never have to see John Howard again after he was turfed out of Australian parliament in spectacular fashion in 2007, the news in January this year that he may be heading up the International Cricket Council came as a nasty shock. It seems that Howard’s $330,000 pension, free travel, office and car that he receives for the rest of his life at tax payer’s expense weren’t enough. Howard wanted his dream job - President of the International Cricket Council.

Although Howard’s bowling action resembles Monty Burns and he has no cricket administration experience, when the Cricket Australia board (which includes Howard’s former Defence Minister, Ian McLachlan) came knocking looking for someone to stand up to the clout of India, Howard, being a self-confessed cricket tragic, was more than happy to oblige.

Unfortunately for Howard and Cricket Australia the racist policies he pushed as a politician have come back to bite.

In 2007 Howard banned the Zimbabwe cricket team from touring Australia in opposition to Mugabe’s regime. Although not hypocritical in itself, when you consider that in the 1980’s Howard opposed economic sanctions against apartheid South Africa, it is no wonder that the nations involved in the ICC are dubious.

While Prime Minister, Howard called Sri Lankan cricketer Muralitharan a chucker even though repeated scientific tests proved that his bowling action was legal. Howard also chimed in on a controversial match between Pakistan and England, supporting Australian umpire Darrell Hair in his decision to award the match to England amongst ball-tampering accusations.

It is not clear which objections caused some members of the ICC to block Howard as no official explanations have been given. From his harsh stance on asylum seekers to his support for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, any number of Howard’s racist policies may have been factors.

Howard’s lack of cricket administration experience was unlikely to be the reason he was blocked. The newly appointed ICC President from India, Sharad Pawar, is also a politician who has a limited cricket background.

In the end only the three “white nations” on the ICC supported Howard’s nomination – England, New Zealand and Australia. Six nations - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa and the West Indies signed a letter in opposition to Howard’s appointment. Zimbabwe did not have to offer an opinion since no vote was taken.

It is no wonder Howard felt well qualified to take up the reins of the ICC since its history is steeped in racism. Australia, England and South Africa established the very white Imperial Cricket Council in 1909. South Africa was disallowed membership from the 1960’s but Australia and England continued to run the ICC together as its only foundation members, having veto over all decisions of the ICC and displaying an elitist view towards the other nations. After several years of applying Sri Lanka was the first country to be allowed full membership in 1981.

Howard’s rejection has caused an outcry amongst Australian sports commentators who believe the move is “disrespectful” to Australia and a power-play by India. While certainly a power-play on all sides, Howard’s rejection is far from disrespectful. The Indian press are right in pointing out that it was insensitive for a country like Australia with a long history of racism, including recent inaction around the attacks on Indian students, to nominate a candidate with Howard’s record.

The ICC’s Presidential appointments operate on a rotating basis. This year it is Australasia’s turn to nominate a candidate for Vice President for the next two years who will then be appointed President for the following two years. Australia and New Zealand have been told by the ICC to find someone else. Let’s hope they accept the objections of the other cricketing nations and keep Howard watching from the sidelines.