The series of stories, written by Samantha Lane, began on Thursday (apparently a slow news day) under the heading Over The Rainbow.
Splashed across the back page of Sport the lead paragraph stated: "The AFL's decision to shelve plans to promote an anti-homophobia message at two games last season has prompted a member of an organising committee to accuse the league of neglecting gay issues."
CEO Andrew Demetriou responded with some passion on his regular radio appearance on 3AW on Friday. Among other things supporting the AFL position, he said: "I think everyone knows our position on diversity and I don't share that view and I'm really offended by that piece."
In the Sunday Age, columnist Jake Niall kept with The Age brief, mounting a detailed argument on why, in 114 years of competition (at least in Victoria) no player - active or retired - has come out of the closet.
His underlying thesis, though unstated, is that in more than 11,000 players to don a guernsey in that period at least one of these players was/is gay.
The Niall thesis, sensitively put, was that any player who announced his sexual predilection as being anything but hetero would be something of a circus act, confronted by what Niall described as a media "SWAT team".
Given the frenzy surrounding anything to do with the AFL, or a player, we certainly agree with Niall's forecast of a media frenzy, but what drives Media Watch to distraction is the sense that any player who was to pronounce his homosexuality would be considered different, and would need to be courageous.
The Media Watch office celebrates difference - in culture, nationality, ideas, religion, dress sense, hobbies, clubs supported, and sexuality whether pronounced or not. We ask for one thing: a commitment to excellence.
Having worked closely with the AFL for more then 15 years as a provider, and another 20 as a reporter, I can report safely the same approach applies in the vast and growing offices above Media Watch.
More than that, the AFL is keenly aware of its responsibilities beyond sport - it is not a political leader, but it understands well that its influence can be stronger, and broader than political parties, often affected by partisanship.
The mere fact that there have not been posed photos of players, or administrators with facile signs, as per 2010, means nothing in the wash-up.
The AFL has not always been active in social matters, but the kerfuffle surrounding racial vilification in the early '90s certainly focused the mind inside the administration.
The League has always been responsible for making sure the Laws of the Game get close to representing the spirit of the game; and after the Michael Long affair, knows it must always be responsible, as far as it can, for ensuring that its players, administrators and fans understand we live in one world.
Party time
Media Watch's brief is to search the world of media and report items that have not been sourced by afl.com.au reporters, columnists and commentators.
Today, we report on a fruitless search - the search for references as to why Gary Ablett is not an appropriate captain of the Gold Coast Suns; or why Gary Ablett is putting his own commercial interests ahead of the club that employs him.
We searched high and low, listened to radio, checked Twitter, watched TV, but we could find no reference to the fact that this week Ablett travelled to Sydney to shoot a commercial for Gillette on the Suns' day off; news we discovered courtesy of a slip of the tongue from his young teammate Zac Smith while the big fellow was doing the PR rounds after his selection as the round six NAB AFL Rising Star nominee.
Why such a diligent search? Well, we noted the extraordinary performance put in by Ablett in the ultimately losing match against Adelaide on Saturday, and were bemused to note that this was football excellence at its best, not a versatility that allows him to mix a normal life with sporting genius. No more than a few weeks ago, the reports flowed that Ablett was out and about, "a party boy".
Ablett, a few days after his trip to and from Sydney, started Saturday's game with 16 disposals, and three goals, leading his team to a 25-point lead well into the first quarter.
He finished the game with 41 disposals - 18 kicks, 23 handpasses, eight tackles, and launched eight attacks into the Suns' front half. The Gold Coast Bulletin suggested it was a rare performance, a three-vote Brownlow game for a player in a team beaten by 10 goals.
Any criticism of Ablett's approach is, and always has been, nonsense. And no better evidence can be gleaned from his performance in 2010, when he played his heart out for Geelong, including a best on ground performance in Geelong's thrashing by Collingwood in the preliminary final, Ablett's last match in the blue and white hoops.
Ablett performed throughout the year as he always had, despite a lack of any close relationship with his senior coach, despite knowing it was unlikely he would be with the club in 2011. This is a person who devotes every ounce of his capacity to maximising his performance.
His recent history is worth noting as another media pleasure chase gains momentum over the next months - the ongoing wonder as to who will be switching to GWS next season, and whether such will have an impact on their 2011 performance.
Media Watch has been in the business of hiring people for more than 20 years. In all that time, we have never seen an employee who has either decided to leave, or has informed an intention to leave, who has then drifted in his or her application to the task in hand.
To suggest differently is to show little respect for the way people work for their living, and apply their best efforts for any employer, at any time; until, at least, until after final day (a la Ablett, 2010) and the move is made.
Players of the quality of Ablett, Campbell Brown, Michael Rischitelli and Jared Brennan have displayed this approach in droves for the Suns. So too, have (and will) those players who have already agreed in secret to go to the west of Sydney next year.
Interestingly, the search for the first story on who will go to GWS might also have a SWAT team chasing it; perhaps for a back page lead, rather than a splash on page one.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
