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Ambiguous Football League: Dillon totally failed us all in Rankine saga
Sam Edmund • August 22nd, 2025 11:15 am
The finally-delivered four-week suspension of Izak Rankine ensured that we all lost.
Rankine lost.
Adelaide lost – on-field and reputationally.
The Collingwood player targeted with the homophobic slur lost.
The many who are offended by this language lost.
The AFL lost and ultimately, that meant we all lost too.
The AFL failed its big exam when it comes to its own assignment - ridding the game of homophobic language.
It started this assignment last year. Jeremy Finlayson’s three weeks and Andrew Dillon’s threat of greater sanctions got us to Will Powell receiving a five-match ban.
Lance Collard was hit for six, Jack Graham was given four given he self-reported and only last month Riak Andrew was five.
But here we were enduring five days of horse trading that poisoned the game and an excruciatingly drawn-out legal crawl to a negotiated outcome.
Where was the unflinching grip? The stake in the ground? The zero tolerance you admirably pursued?
The game deserved better - and we deserved more clarity.
“Compelling Medical reasons.”
We know and understand that at times the league - any league - must keep its own counsel.
But there’s also times when the AFL needs to bring you into the tent.
But there’s also times when the AFL needs to bring you into the tent.
We needed more transparency. We deserved an explanation. And this administration could have done with a moment of profound leadership and conviction.
But too many times in recent times the Australian Football League has been more like the Ambiguous Football League. And it’s so disappointing.
The Crows’ formal defense didn’t reference any Snoop Dogg hypocrisy. The Dan Houston provocation was ignored and so too was their argument that finals are worth more than regular home and away games.
But “compelling medical reasons”? That’s genius.
The Ambiguous Football League would appear to grossly undervalue, or are completely unaware of, the raging mistrust across the football community when huge findings like this are made with very little clarity.
Andrew Dillon spent more time on his opening statement discussing a 53-year old rapper than the reasons behind the Rankine decision.
If it is true that Rankine’s “compelling medical reasons” centred around mental health concerns and the impact having his season being cut would have on him then, duh!
That’s the whole point. That’s consequence. That’s what we teach our children.
Surely there’s more layers to it than that. But when the Ambiguous Football League don’t hold to its own principles then we are again left to speculate.
