Behind the Scene of a Players Dirty Act

I originally wrote this poem about disturbing off-field antics of some professional footballers/sportsmen in Australia i.e. domestic violence, abuse of women, drugs and alcohol abuse. These men may succeed through their sporting prowess but they fall short as role models off the field as do the clubs that support them.


Behind the Scene of a Players Dirty Act - a lament/protest poem:

I am... every woman disrespected by football culture
And every woman dreading hero as predatory vulture

I am... every woman wed to a player devoid of trust
And every woman pained by - shared acts of disgust

I am...every woman's son paying attention to the sport
And every woman conscious of his lessons being taught

I am... every sister, daughter, mother, lover, fan - abused
Questioning re/actions of men - amongst those accused

I am asking...

How can these staged acts of gender violence
Remain hidden behind figured codes of silence?

Whilst the victim suffers being - a downgraded soul
Hurt by heroes high and performing - out of control

I am...every woman forced to feel the horror of rape
And every woman - not fortunate enough to escape

I am...every woman battered through - sexual assault
And every woman later to learn - it is ALWAYS her fault

I am...every woman slighted in changing room chatter
And every woman treated equally as disposable matter

I am...every woman under a wing of patriarchy's truth
And every woman framed by mateship of the uncouth.

Copyright(c)Lili Tuwai 2007

No part of this poem can be reproduced without prior permission from the author.

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[saintfletcher]

Well said. Sport needs some soul searching. Blessings +++ The Saint +++

[reVerse2bfree]

I appreciate your comment. Blessings 2 U 2

[leftysergeant]

The least fortunate woman is she whom some hero thinks should be his as a prize. This was a lot deeper than it may seem.

[reVerse2bfree]

Thank you for your comment

[roxygalxox55]

I LOVE YOU THE POEMS YOU SAY MAKE ME CRY

[reVerse2bfree]

Thanks for the feed back :o}

[LadyboyAgogo]

They all get away with it with fancy lawyers and victim intimidation and its all swept under the carpet just try to find a list of NRL rapists on google

[AmbroseAmdis1]

hawanna find a fellow who can satisfy my needs

[DianaBoston]

I highly dislike sport culture.

[harleynanda]

(cont'd) ... do not comprehend the universality of the repeated phrase "I am...". Ego too easily clouds one's mirrors.

[harleynanda]

(cont'd) ... in turn subvert such opportunities to display its animal weaknesses. You question this quite aptly in lines 10 through 13. Your insights very effectively describe far more serious consequential issues throughout this piece. I have a chosen to bring this one point to light, for it seems by the number of inappropriately assigned 'thumbs down' opinions you have garnered that this point is self demonstrating. An excellent piece. Too bad so many ...

[harleynanda]

It is indeed a sad state of affairs that a culture evolved around a physical sport would be so permissive and lax as to tolerate and thus condone the excesses which it and its role models are susceptible to, for these behaviors can be so degrading to human nature (and damaging to its victims), let alone the sport itself and what it is supposed to promote. It points out a rather disturbing characteristic: all too often when given the opportunity to attain more noble heights, human ego will ...

[DoorsChick1967]

A different angle of abuse, but one that undoubtedly needed to be heard, of course.

Great flow, very clear in it's stance and message. 5 stars!

[mollysmithers]

Finally ! Its so refreshing to read a brilliant poem that challenges the appalling behavior of so many of our professional league players. They are paid to play sport - not to sexually and physically abuse women and partake in drug and alcohol abuse! Thank You for writing about a topic that needs to be taken more seriously by the nrl and society in general. Props to you!!!

[gideon9595]

So True...

[quixot1c]

that was a lovely poem