Why it’s time for sport to say no to athletes like Elijah Taylor who commit violence against women

Elijah Taylor wants to play AFL again and the back page of Friday’s The West Australian asked does he deserve another chance? It’s a pretty simple answer … hell no. Nobody can expect to seriously breach the most basic of community standards and be welcomed back to the biggest game in town, regardless of whether a court allows him back onto the street. As a child, it’s driven into boys that you should never hit a girl. There’s no grey area. You just don’t do it. No reason. No excuse. No justification. No. No. No. It is hard to even comprehend laying a finger on a woman, let alone punching her and whipping her with a belt as Taylor did to his former girlfriend. Having been sacked by the Sydney Swans, fined $5000 in court and received a spent conviction, Taylor has resumed training with Perth Football Club and is hoping to gain permission to play WAFL footy. Rudy Riddoch is training with West Perth too, after recently completing a prison sentence for assaulting his former partner. The AFL and WAFL need to make a stand and tell them no. They simply shouldn’t be allowed to be registered to play footy at that level. WAFL players are still being paid to play sport. They often compete against AFL-listed players and receive the opportunity to play on TV. That exposure is a privilege, not a right. How often have we heard sporting teams talk about character? Australian cricket coach Justin Langer has repeatedly said he’ll take “character over cover drives”. AFL teams say it all the time, too. But too often, talent becomes too hard for teams to ignore. It happens way too often in rugby league. Sport clearly has an issue with how to handle these scenarios. It’s time for rules and processes to be put in place to make it clear what is required for someone to be registered after a serious offence — particularly when it comes to violence against women. Whether it’s a number of years or completing courses, the steps should be clear and they should take a long time to accomplish. The AFL indefinitely banned a Fremantle fan from attending games after he was caught on film punching a female at the preliminary final in 2015. That was a strong decision. But if he can’t attend a game, why should a talented footballer be able to commit the same type of offence and play? We’ve also seen former WAFL player Chris Billings step down from his job as coach of a C-grade amateur team as a result of being fined $4500 in court this week for assaulting his wife. Sport has a leadership role in society. It is impossible for anyone to lead a group of young and impressionable people when their own behaviour has fallen so far below community expectations. The strongest message any club or code can send is by banning players who commit violence against women. No grey area. No excuse. No justification. It’s that simple. The answer is no.