Smart Plays: The potential of sport
In each fortnightly episode of Smart Plays, Tarik and special guests will be tackling difficult social issues in sport and exploring our capacity for positive social change.
We’re so excited and proud to bring to you the trailer episode of Smart Plays.
At its best, community sport is a social glue, teaching values of fair play, inclusion and respect from the ground up. But community sport at its worst becomes a battleground in which a win-at-all-costs mentality can lead to verbal and physical abuse of players, coaches and match officials.
Every week our media highlights unsavoury sporting incidents that triggers the question — is this who we really are and is this the example we want to set our kids?
As the manager of Club Respect and an avid sports fan himself, Tarik sees the potential of sport in bringing us together to create a more inclusive and cohesive society if we have the bravery to confront and address some ugly truths.
Production team
Host & Executive Producer: Tarik Bayrakli
Executive Producer: Mary Crooks AO
Creative producer: Patrick Skene
Editor/Mixer: Pariya Taherzadeh
Graphic designer: Ally Oliver-Perham
With thanks to the entire team at Victorian Women’s Trust.
Transcript
What’s the biggest problem facing Australian sport?
Shortage of Facilities?… Participation levels?… Gold Medals?
No. It’s the blind spot of Australian sport…
That the abuse of referees and umpires has gotten so bad its led to shortages of match officials on match days, violence from fans and parents, death threats and major mental health issues for match officials.
You can’t solve it if you can’t talk about it.
And that’s why Club Respect exists – to rebuild the respect for each other, that we need to have, if sport is going to thrive.
And you’ll be hearing all about it through Smart Plays, Club Respect’s new podcast where we bring it out of the darkness and shine a light on the hot topics that nobody wants to talk about.
We’re on a journey to bring sport into the modern world of respect.
So, let’s talk about it…
Bad parent sideline behaviour, is it out of control?
Disgusting racial slurs and sledging, can anyone speak up?
Are coaches and club administrators helpless to stem the tide? Or are they valuable frontline fighters in the war for respect?
Deep down, is your club doing everything it can to welcome people from different backgrounds?
Smart Plays will have all these thought-provoking conversations and more…
Because we believe sunlight is the best disinfectant and you can’t change it if you can’t talk about it.
So, join us on the ‘Smart Plays’ journey every fortnight.