Adelaide, Be Better: Crows Fans Jeer & Boo Over Homophobic Slur Incident
Image: Photo: AFL Photos
Amid the charged atmosphere of last night’s Elimination Final between the Adelaide Crows and Collingwood Magpies, the homophobic slur story that’s dominated headlines for weeks continued to play out — now not on the field, but in the stands.
As Collingwood defender Isaac Quaynor returned to Adelaide Oval following a searing homophobic slur directed at him by Izak Rankine just a few weeks prior, the response from some Crows fans was anything but welcome.
Instead of standing for decency — or even at the very least, silence — they booed Quaynor incessantly through the 24-point loss.
In a statement released Friday morning, the Club kept it very brief.
“We want members and footy fans to be barracking and passionate,” read the Crows’ statement.
“However they should do so respectfully and any behaviour contrary to that is disappointing and not appropriate.”
Izak Rankine’s homophobic slur and its consequences
In Round 23, Adelaide forward Izak Rankine spat out a homophobic slur toward a Collingwood player.
The AFL levied a four-game suspension, effectively ending Rankine’s season and leaving him to watch from the stands.
Rankine address media for the first time on Tuesday night.
In a tightly controlled press conference at Adelaide Airport, Rankine told media he was “deeply sorry” for his remark and that he was “disappointed” in himself.
“There was no excuse. It was wrong and I take full responsibility,” he said. “I’m disappointed in myself and I know I have let a lot of people down. I want to apologise to anyone who I have hurt and offended. I understand that word was offensive, harmful, it’s hurtful and has no place in our game or our society.”
Rankine stated that he was in “no way a victim” and would be working to gain “everyone’s trust back”.
“In the next few days I will be standing in front of my teammates and the AFLW and apologising to them personally – and they deserve this at the very least.”
Mitch Brown’s coming out
Not long after Rankine’s slur, former West Coast defender Mitch Brown publicly came out as bisexual — the first openly bisexual player in the entirety of AFL’s history, and a seismic moment for the league and Australian LGBTQIA+ history.
It was met with support and celebration, but it also magnified the toxic response to Rankine’s bigotry and exposed how deeply homophobia still lingers in footy culture.
Disappointing disrespect from Crows fans
It is a heartbreaking irony: rather than rejecting Rankine’s homophobia with chants of unity, sections of the crowd chose to boo the person who copped the homophobic slur in the first place.
Collingwood coach Craig McRae was blunt:
“It is disappointing, not just Isaac but Dan [Houston]…
“When I first heard it, I thought, jeez that’s disappointing. I’m really proud of him and Dan and others. We’ll protect our players as best we can, we’ll love and support them around the edges and we’ll celebrate this one.”
“Stay classy, Crows fans,” said Triple M’s Kate McCarthy on-air during the game. She later tweeted “booing someone for calling out homophobia is truly something isn’t it.”
It’s profoundly disappointing that, in what should have been a moment to rally behind consequences for homophobia, a faction of Adelaide fans chose instead to perpetuate it.
If our footy clubs and fans can’t rise above the din to choose empathy over contempt, we risk normalising the very things our broader communities are striving to fight. That some Crows fans booed a player for being targeted by hate isn’t just poor sportsmanship — it’s a setback for us all. And frankly, we deserve better than that. Adelaide fans: be better.
