sport news Gay footy players reveal how they want Jeremy Finlayson punished for his ... trends now
Two openly gay footballers have called on the AFL to fine and suspend Port Adelaide's Jeremy Finlayson following the homophobic slur he uttered to an Essendon player during Gather Round.
It comes as Port Adelaide chairman David Koch has been blasted for his response to the issue.
Finlayson, 28, is still awaiting his punishment from the AFL's Integrity Unit as they continue to investigate the slur.
CEO Andrew Dillon confirmed on Monday that the punishment will be handed down before this week's matches begin on Thursday.
The footy star's slur was picked up by an umpire's microphone at Adelaide Oval on Friday night, with Essendon players also calling it out.
Two openly gay footballers have called on the AFL to suspend Port's Jeremy Finlayson (pictured left) following the homophobic slur he uttered during Gather Round
Openly gay footy player turned LGBTI advocate Jason Ball (pictured middle) labelled Jeremy Finlayson's shocking attack 'harmful to people and harmful to our game'
A contrite Finlayson informed the club at three-quarter-time that he had used the slur - then apologised to the player at fulltime.
Jason Ball - a former amateur footballer in Victoria who came out publicly in 2012 - said Finlayson's slur was another example of why 'no male AFL player has felt comfortable to come out'.
'This incident must be dealt with in the same way the AFL would with a racist slur,' he told News Corp.
'Both [racism and gay slurs] are harmful to people and harmful to our game. We need to see education for players and coaches and we need to see proactive campaigns to stamp out homophobic language whether on the field or in the stands, at the elite level and at the grassroots.'
Michael O'Donnell, who plays for UNSW's Eastern Suburbs Bulldogs in Sydney and is openly gay, said local-level football clubs have been incredibly inclusive of his sexuality.
He also found Finlayson's slur 'incredibly disappointing.'
'I think it is an opportunity for the AFL to show this is no longer acceptable in football, it is not like it was 20 to 25 years ago when these sort of comments were far more commonplace,' he said.
Port Adelaide chairman David Koch has come under fire after suggesting a two-game suspended ban and a hefty fine is the 'benchmark' in terms of a penalty for Finlayson
Meanwhile, on April 7, Koch appeared on the ABC's Offsiders program and left some footy fans furious when he was asked about the severity of the punishment the league could hand down to Finlayson.
He referred to
