Collingwood players have set the benchmark for league-wide ally-ship of the #FreeTheFlag cause, extending their support past the inaugural AFLW indigenous round and throughout the remaining games of their season.
In the AFL close to 11 percent of its playing group are indigenous; this number falls drastically to just five percent in the AFLW.
The ‘Clothing the Gap’ campaign is geared to address the inequality indigenous people experience in their lives and have created their #FreeTheFlag shirts in protest of indigenous people’s inability to display their flag on clothing.
The AFL decided to forego the Aboriginal flag in Sir Doug Nicholls round last year, protesting the non-Indigenous company WAM Clothing purchased exclusive rights to use the flag since 2018.
All 18 AFL clubs donned the #FreeTheFlag shirts before games in the 2020 indigenous round.
Ahead of the inaugural AFLW Indigenous Round this week, the AFLW has similarly thrown its support behind the #FreeTheFlag movement.
Along with all the magnificent indigenous-inspired and designed jumpers, all clubs will again wear the Closing the Gap T-Shirts.
The Collingwood AFLW playing group has furthered the support of this cause by choosing to promote the #FreeTheFlag campaign for the remainder of the 2021 AFLW season.
With the introduction of the first AFLW indigenous round this year, the league has identified the long way to go in this space and has made its first step in creating an equal opportunity for indigenous women to make it to the AFLW.
With this announcement, Collingwood’s AFLW side has signalled its intent to become a trailblazer for indigenous women in footy.
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