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Former player and commentator Kate McCarthy has said "enough is enough" after another AFLW player was the subject of targeted abuse over the weekend.
An incident of crowd abuse involving Brisbane star goal-kicker Dakota Davidson on Sunday during the Lions' win over St Kilda was referred to the AFL Integrity Unit, which is now investigating the matter.
It follows an incident earlier this year involving Richmond's Kate Dempsey being the subject of homophobic abuse during Pride Round.
"We have now seen multiple players this year face vilification," McCarthy told the ABC.
"I have said it before this year and I really hope I do not have to say it again, but this has got to stop. Enough is enough.
"Stop with the vile homophobic, racist, sexist comments.
"Our wonderful AFLW athletes do not deserve this treatment whilst simply doing their job and using their profile to advocate for marginalised communities."
While what was said has not been made public, the comments regarding Davidson are understood to be about her appearance.
Davidson recently spoke on the Keegan and Company podcast about the toll of the gendered abuse she has received and been the target of online.
"I get quite a lot of comments about how I look in regards to my physical appearance," she said.
"Obviously the short hair, you know body structure … I don't even know, actually, what part of me looks like a boy.
"But I obviously had a lot of success on the grand final day [in 2023], and I think one of my photos was the front cover of a news article [in the Herald Sun].
Dakota Davidson (centre) says she gets "quite a lot of comments about how I look". (Getty Images: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos)
"I scrolled through the comments and it was all, 'He's the best one out there', 'He won them the game', 'Good on him', 'He grew a leg when it was needed' — and I've just copped a lot.
"And it wasn't just that game. It's every game."
Taking a toll
Davidson got emotional when she spoke about the toll of the comments, which have become tiresome and frustrating.
"It just gets frustrating because I'm actually really proud of how I look and how I present myself and who I am," she said.
"And now [when] I go to games, I make an effort to point out little girls with short hair because I know that they see me and they're like, 'Daks has short hair, I can have short hair too' and I love that."
In the third-quarter break against the Saints, Davidson briefly spoke to an on-field umpire before being comforted by teammates.
The forward star was visibly upset, brought to tears while in the coaches' huddle.
The patron in question on Sunday was identified and removed from the venue swiftly, as reported by AFL.com.au.
Brisbane was pleased with how the situation was handled at the time and it was taken seriously by parties there.
"The club was made aware of an incident between a patron and Dakota Davidson during the match against St Kilda yesterday," the Lions said in a club statement.
Loading..."The club would like to thank the match manager, St Kilda players, staff and fans along with the security at the venue who dealt with the incident.
"The matter has been referred to the AFL Integrity unit."
In late October, the AFL issued a formal apology to Richmond AFLW player Dempsey and her family following a social media post that attracted a wave of homophobic abuse.
Dempsey and her two-year-old daughter Pippa were the subject of a post during Pride Round, which Richmond said was a story that "deserves to be celebrated".
However, the post on the AFL Women's account garnered more than 400 comments, the majority abusive.
The AFL apologised for not monitoring the post swiftly enough, while Richmond condemned the abuse as "deeply disturbing" and "abhorrent".
"Richmond Football Club accepts diversity in all its forms," the club statement read.
"There is zero tolerance for homophobia, discrimination or any form of hate in our game.
"In short, everyone has the right to feel safe."
Finding a way forward
Commentator and women's footy pioneer Chyloe Kurdas said it was terrible that AFLW players were having to navigate targeted abuse, but it provided an opportunity for the competition to be a role model in standing up against it.
"It can model a new path, a different way forward, a different way to be and as a community that's really inclusive and encouraging and enabling and supporting. So, that's the opportunity with the W," Kurdas told the ABC.
"Whilst in a traditional W market, we haven't had that kind of behaviour, we are going to see that from time to time, unfortunately.
"But the opportunity of the W is to role model a different way of embracing everyone.
"There's an opportunity each and every time these things happen, to not only call out behaviour or attitudes that we don't want to see, but also highlight and celebrate the wonderful diversity that exists within the competition in all its forms.
"And that last bit, for me, is really important, because we don't move forward if we don't highlight what we get from the diversity of identity, culture, race, religion, experience, expression etc."