AFLW comes of age after ‘useless’ sledge directed at Tayla Harris

The phrase “well-behaved women seldom make history”, penned by the US-born Pulitzer prize-winning historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, is often misinterpreted.

Writing in an obscure scholarly article in 1976, Ulrich didn’t mean women must misbehave to effect change – as the ubiquitous feminist bumper stickers and mugs emblazoned with the quote seem to intimate – but rather that extraordinary women are often overlooked by history.

Related: AFLW is a 'political' competition but that is not something to be afraid of | Kasey Symons

She’s right of course, and the parallels with the burgeoning AFLW competition – built on the back of decades of quiet, unrewarded work at grassroots level, almost exclusively by women – are obvious.

But in recent days the league, now in its fourth season, has captured the zeitgeist and dominated sports talkback and water-cooler chats across the Australian rules states.

And, somewhat ironically, it’s because of a not-so-well-behaved woman … or what some would seek to label as such. The competition, and women’s sport more broadly, needs more women such as Stacey Livingstone to break the glass ceiling that is still very much intact when it comes to mainstream cut-through.

After her side’s 15-point win against Carlton at Ikon Park on Sunday, the Collingwood defender Livingstone directed a top-shelf sledge to her opponent, the league poster girl Tayla Harris, describing her as “useless” if she can’t dominate aerially.

“You’ve just got to stop her in the air; that’s her game. If you can do that, she’s useless,” said Livingstone, a veteran defender who was best-on in the VFLW grand final last year.

Livingstone had 15 touches in the match on Sunday and soundly beat Harris who finished with just six disposals, two marks and a goal, well down on her best.

The 22-second clip of the defender’s interview sparked reactions from across the code and has people talking, even days later, about AFLW like it’s a sport … as distinct from a women’s sport, something of which advocates dream.

First, the Blues coach Daniel Harford described Livingstone’s assessment as “borderline garbage”, not shying away from giving a frank response himself. “That’s someone who’s feeling really good about themselves after a great performance, isn’t it? And she’s entitled to feel really good about the way she played,” he said. “But anyone who’s watched Tayla play would know that’s not the case, that’s borderline garbage. To suggest that there’s only one element to Tayla’s game is fodder.”

On social media the North Melbourne great David King praised the post-game “spice” and the entire round of matches, which included some brilliant physical clashes, declaring it a watershed weekend. It’s hard to disagree with his assessment.
“I’m a huge fan of the AFLW competition, but I feel today was its finest day. All long-term, successful competitions need passion and often a little bit of hatred helps. It shows all just how much it means to the combatants when they speak with such spice. Bloody loved it!” he said.

“Bloody loved it” was a common reaction amongst fans, although some have labelled Livingstone’s spray as rude and disrespectful. Obviously women aren’t allowed to occasionally be those things.

On Twitter, Harris, who is also a professional boxer, chipped in, replying simply “same” to a tweet from the broadcaster looking forward to a potential rematch between the sides in the finals. On Monday afternoon she posted an image of a prowling lion with the phrase “a lion never loses sleep over the opinions of sheep”. Mic drop.

Livingstone has, probably wisely, back-pedalled a little since Sunday, calling her comments a “bit of smack talk” and saying she “could have chosen her words better”. But she should be lauded for her honesty – something often lacking in yawn-inducing post-match interviews in the men’s game – and for showing the fervour in the women’s game runs deep.

The competition will only benefit from such passion and pure humanity, two characteristics that drive a love of a sport, whoever is playing it. It’s the stuff of column inches and talkback content and bar-stool debate. And if Collingwood and Carlton do meet in the finals, it’ll be treated very differently than if Livingstone had delivered meaningless platitudes for 22 seconds, that’s for sure.

For showing women can be brutal, can have swagger, can be boastful and yes maybe even a bit rude at times, Livingstone has also done much for little girls watching at home. She shows girls and women don’t have to fit in a box and don’t have to play nice.

Maybe Ulrich did mean women must misbehave to change the world, after all.