One-Eyed Richmond Forum
Football => Richmond Rant => Topic started by: one-eyed on March 25, 2015, 11:44:26 AM
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Madam president
Ashley Browne
afl.com.au
March 25, 2015 9:40 AM
PEGGY O'Neal's first day as a Richmond supporter got off to an auspicious start.
Not long in Australia, having moved from the mountains of Virginia in the US, she turned up to watch the Tigers on a bright, sunny day at the MCG wearing a red, wide-brimmed hat.
"Oh my god, you can't wear that!" shrieked her friend, whose goal that day was to indoctrinate O'Neal into all things Richmond.
"That's the colour of Melbourne and that's the team we're playing today."
With that, O'Neal disappeared briefly, found a merchandise stall and returned sporting a more suitable yellow and black cap. It was the start of a commitment to Richmond that has grown steadily over the last quarter of a century to now, as she enters her second season as president of the Tigers.
O'Neal grew up as a fan of basketball in the US rather than American football, liking the physicality but without the padding. That's what drew her towards Australian football when she first moved here, as did the idea of supporting the local club.
She moved into Richmond – the suburb – and loved the thought of following the club that was based and which played its games just a short walk from home.
Moving through the ranks of a prestigious Melbourne law firm, O'Neal also came to understand that football was the great conversation starter in her new home city.
"As an outsider you learned a lot about Melbourne through the game," she told AFL.com.au in a recent interview. "I quite understand how it gives an outsider - if you're interested in sport – an entrée into the types of conversations Melbourne has for much of the year.
"Once you took a team you have a tribe and once you're in, it doesn't matter much about your background. You have that sense of belonging and understanding of the community that little bit better.
"I like the sport, but really like how it's connected to the community in which you live."
Her devotion grew bit by bit. She gave money to the 'Save Our Skins' campaign that kept the Tigers from death's door in the early 1990s. Once she became a partner of her law firm, she would schedule the mandatory 'work on the weekend' sessions so that she could be at the football in time for the opening bounce whenever Richmond played.
She sponsored players and helped establish the Tommy Hafey Club. In late 2005 she joined the board at the behest of then chief executive Greg Miller. And she became president at the end of 2013, breaking new ground as the first American-born president of an AFL club, but more significantly, the first woman.
Her friends and relatives back in the US find it intriguing that she heads up a football club. In their eyes, the title of 'president' is akin to that of 'owner' and they forever grill her about whether she flies to games in her own private plane.
The female side of course, is more significant. When the presidency became a consideration she knew she had the skills to do the job well. Deciding whether she was the best representative for the club took a bit more thinking.
"I have always recognised that when opportunities came up for women, that they should step up and take them when it's their turn. I can't deny that there was an element of this being a novelty at first and how would that wear with me. But I wanted to be a good president and it was my turn. I knew I was ready for it."
Richmond is no longer the volatile club it once was. The days of ruthlessly sacking its coaches are long gone and as O'Neal rightly points out, both Danny Frawley and Terry Wallace served out their full terms as coach. Damian Hardwick has already had his contract extended once since his appointment in 2010.
But it is a quirky club. The football world fell in love with the Tigers in 2013 as they marched into their first finals series in 12 years and watched with fascination as they slumped to a 3-10 start last year.
What was remarkable about Richmond's slump last year was that while the supporters were apoplectic as the losses mounted, the club itself maintained an admirable impression of calm and unity.
There were few angry outbursts from former greats. Neither O'Neal nor chief executive Brendon Gale gave the media anything even slightly worthy of a screaming headline despite calls from them to do so, chiefly from Matthew Lloyd, who got into a shouting match with Caroline Wilson on Footy Classified one evening when he demanded to know what O'Neal brought to the club in this time of apparent crisis.
"It wouldn't have happened to a male president," Wilson said. "Peggy did so much behind the scenes and because she and her high-profile chief executive didn't speak out, it was amazing.
"One of the reasons the club didn't implode because it had a woman president, someone who was steadying the ship. She maintained that air of stability and kept things calm."
O'Neal says her silence should not have been mistaken for a lack of concern. "I'm still surprised that people think that if they're not reading about it in the paper, then nothing's happening," she said.
"I think the best work is done when you have the freedom to talk among yourselves and not have to pay attention to those who may not have your best interests at heart. The ones who have committed many years with the club and have the right talent are the ones who will go through the process to get us out of this."
It is this sort of calm and measured approach, perhaps shaped by years working among the minutiae of financial services law, that sees people such as Hardwick become unabashed fans of O'Neal.
"What she does really well is not ask a lot of questions but ask the right questions," he said. "That's the sign of a great leader and that's what Peggy is. She makes really solid decisions and doesn't rush into things. You give her answers and then she makes decisions. I have found her to be outstanding."
O'Neal's appointment as president is symbolic of the sort of club the Tigers are striving to become. Even before her appointment, the Tigers were concerned that a breakdown of their membership numbers showed they were in the bottom quartile for female members. 'Wayne from Wantirna', the Coodabeen Champions archetypal forty-something Richmond supporter was actually close to the mark.
So the club eagerly embraced the opportunity to take part in a research project, Gender Equity: What Will It Take To Be The Best, in conjunction with the AFL and the Australian Sports Commission.
The club will be outlining some key announcements before long in this area, but has set itself the target of having women comprise 40 per cent of its key committees and executive by 2017.
"There's more everyone could do," said O'Neal of the AFL industry as a whole. "It's interesting we can still count the number of women on boards but not men. The clubs that want to be better in terms of decision-making and business are those that are trying to bring all types of women into the organisation."
Like those who have gone before her since the club's last premiership in 1980, she dreams of a Tiger premiership flag being unfurled once more. The celebrations will really be something special. But she is front and centre of a profound change for Richmond and for football and she will leave a legacy behind, irrespective of whether the 11th premiership cup makes its way to the trophy cabinet in the interim.
"I think Richmond didn't understand how things were moving on for a number of reasons and has since been playing catch up," she said. "But we have caught up and now we're making the big leap to go ahead."
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-03-25/madam-president
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I'm all for women being involved but it's just silly to aim for a 40-60 split. What are they going to do, overlook better credentialed men just to meet their quota of women?
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The best person should get the job, not token appointments.
If they want to play politics do it in a political party or in the board room of some other business.
The RFC board should be in the business of supporting the staff and mitigating risk so the coaches and players can win as many games as possible.
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Perfect synergy with Hardwick's onfield selection process which is also not a meritocracy and favours those without balls....
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Perfect synergy with Hardwick's onfield selection process which is also not a meritocracy and favours those without balls....
What a lot of rot
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I'm all for women being involved but it's just silly to aim for a 40-60 split. What are they going to do, overlook better credentialed men just to meet their quota of women?
It would only apply in the situation where its a marginal call. Declaring the quota should encourage more women to feel that they should have a crack at applying for roles at the club.
These types of discussion are sometimes difficult to navigate because if the obvious impression they can create but in the longer term this thinking is progressive and will lift capability at the club
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The best person should get the job, not token appointments.
If they want to play politics do it in a political party or in the board room of some other business.
The RFC board should be in the business of supporting the staff and mitigating risk so the coaches and players can win as many games as possible.
I agree that it should always be about getting the best people. And right now case I believe we have the best person as the President of our Club. Gender is not relevant in this case because let us not forget that at the time she elected president by the other board members she was the only female board member. And I don't believe for one minute it was some sort of token gesture. She was deemed by her peers to be the best person to lead the club.
I also agree that a board is about supporting the staff and governance and again we have that now and more importantly we have the right balance starting with our President
However, at the same time I think it's important to remember that there is a lot of politics involved in footy clubs and most of it has been at board level and to think otherwise is well naïve at best. IMHV it is the politics at footy clubs that has led to there not being as much female involvement because of the outdated mentality of the only people who can fill the roles on the boards of footy clubs is men. Having witnessed it first hand you would be hard pressed to change my view on it
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I'm all for women being involved but it's just silly to aim for a 40-60 split. What are they going to do, overlook better credentialed men just to meet their quota of women?
It would only apply in the situation where its a marginal call. Declaring the quota should encourage more women to feel that they should have a crack at applying for roles at the club.
These types of discussion are sometimes difficult to navigate because if the obvious impression they can create but in the longer term this thinking is progressive and will lift capability at the club
Establishing equality of opportunity may be "progressive" - instituting equality of outcomes is anything but.
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great summary
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I'm all for women being involved but it's just silly to aim for a 40-60 split. What are they going to do, overlook better credentialed men just to meet their quota of women?
It would only apply in the situation where its a marginal call. Declaring the quota should encourage more women to feel that they should have a crack at applying for roles at the club.
These types of discussion are sometimes difficult to navigate because if the obvious impression they can create but in the longer term this thinking is progressive and will lift capability at the club
If it's just talk to get more females feeling confident to get involved then good on them no complaints here just hope come 2017 they aren't pooing themselves for not making the quota and just pick the first female that walks in boobs first
Establishing equality of opportunity may be "progressive" - instituting equality of outcomes is anything but.
Nailed it in one :clapping
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Emily's list @ Tigerland.
(http://cdn.mysitemyway.com/etc-mysitemyway/icons/legacy-previews/icons/yellow-black-striped-grunge-construction-icons-symbols-shapes/021478-yellow-black-striped-grunge-construction-icon-symbols-shapes-female-symbol.png)
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I'm all for women being involved but it's just silly to aim for a 40-60 split. What are they going to do, overlook better credentialed men just to meet their quota of women?
It would only apply in the situation where its a marginal call. Declaring the quota should encourage more women to feel that they should have a crack at applying for roles at the club.
These types of discussion are sometimes difficult to navigate because if the obvious impression they can create but in the longer term this thinking is progressive and will lift capability at the club
Establishing equality of opportunity may be "progressive" - instituting equality of outcomes is anything but.
I'm pretty sure good leadership can achieve both so let's see what happens.
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Honestly who has a clue who is the best person for the job. Anyone who says they know is full of it. Ive seen great ideas come out of nowhere and crap come from the best laid plans. Having a balanced mix of gender, personality, education levels, experience in any given team is as good a long term strategy as any. Look at those who self select like Google. Kids doing no evil one minute, dodging taxes like al capone the next. They're just cocky now.
Im for a balanced strategy.
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On that senario, if no one can judge if any person has a better chance than another of succeeding regardless of experience and capabilities why not draft some players from the women's league and see how that works out.
Maybe common sense is not so common and experience is irrelevant.
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What has she done again?
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Since she's been at Richmond
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Within reason, who would have picked Paul Keating as Treasurer or PM after dropping out of high school at 14. Sorry to bring in a political example on a footy board.
How about bringing in a billionaire to save a club like idiot Pratt. Has barely help the scum. You woulda thought he could spend his way out. You just never 100% know.
Even Geelong success, where the hell did that come from. A 1 horse town full of a dying car industry and an untried coach, yet bomber and co built a great team.
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What has she done again?
She hasn't done or said anything stupid which is a hallmark of all her predecessors.
She also doesn't listen to the stuff wit coterie footy heads who are trapped in the 60s
Good
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I am against quotas. Its actually discriminatory in its own way. Next there will be quotos for a minimum amount of Aborigines, people with disabilities, catholics, non catholics, the orange people and anyone else with an agenda. Our club does to much of this rubbish. How about winning some fking games of football.
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No more I'm not sure what you mean "their agenda"...whats their agenda? equality?
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I agree that it should always be about getting the best people. And right now case I believe we have the best person as the President of our Club. Gender is not relevant in this case because let us not forget that at the time she elected president by the other board members she was the only female board member. And I don't believe for one minute it was some sort of token gesture. She was deemed by her peers to be the best person to lead the club.
I also agree that a board is about supporting the staff and governance and again we have that now and more importantly we have the right balance starting with our President
However, at the same time I think it's important to remember that there is a lot of politics involved in footy clubs and most of it has been at board level and to think otherwise is well naïve at best. IMHV it is the politics at footy clubs that has led to there not being as much female involvement because of the outdated mentality of the only people who can fill the roles on the boards of footy clubs is men. Having witnessed it first hand you would be hard pressed to change my view on it
I'm sorry WP but I can't agree. She wasn't the best appointment, she was a compromise candidate when two others couldn't get the numbers so the board didn't split.
And even though it is unfair an American female will never be fully respected as President of an AFL club and will never have the impact a man will have.
I'd be interested to hear if anyone can name a female President/CEO/Senior Administrator of any predominantly male sport that has ever been successful? No matter their ability, right now I don't think it is possible.
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I agree that it should always be about getting the best people. And right now case I believe we have the best person as the President of our Club. Gender is not relevant in this case because let us not forget that at the time she elected president by the other board members she was the only female board member. And I don't believe for one minute it was some sort of token gesture. She was deemed by her peers to be the best person to lead the club.
I also agree that a board is about supporting the staff and governance and again we have that now and more importantly we have the right balance starting with our President
However, at the same time I think it's important to remember that there is a lot of politics involved in footy clubs and most of it has been at board level and to think otherwise is well naïve at best. IMHV it is the politics at footy clubs that has led to there not being as much female involvement because of the outdated mentality of the only people who can fill the roles on the boards of footy clubs is men. Having witnessed it first hand you would be hard pressed to change my view on it
I'm sorry WP but I can't agree. She wasn't the best appointment, she was a compromise candidate when two others couldn't get the numbers so the board didn't split.
And even though it is unfair an American female will never be fully respected as President of an AFL club and will never have the impact a man will have.
I'd be interested to hear if anyone can name a female President/CEO/Senior Administrator of any predominantly male sport that has ever been successful? No matter their ability, right now I don't think it is possible.
It's hard to give you names when in fact there are precious few to name. What has being female got to do with being good anyway?
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I don't mean to say that a women isn't as capable, what I am saying is they are not as effective due to the conditions they face.
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The CEO of the Canterbury Bulldogs in the NRL is a woman
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Georgia Frontiere was very well known and respected in the NFL
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I'll,say it then.
No woman can b president of an afl club and expect positives.
Why?
Because Australian males r the most sexist in the world.
Don't even try and blame members or fans.
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I'll,say it then.
No woman can b president of an afl club and expect positives.
Why?
Because Australian males r the most sexist in the world.
Don't even try and blame members or fans.
Only one way that will change. That's to have more women in senior positions so that it becomes the norm rather than the exception it is still currently. Gotta start somewhere I praise the club for leading the way on this and think Penny's doing a good job.
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Because Australian males r the most sexist in the world.
Not sure if you're extracting the urine here Oxx but that was spoken like someone who has never actually been outside Australia...either that or takes the Daily Life section in The Age far more seriously than anyone with an IQ above double figures should.
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Georgia Frontiere was very well known and respected in the NFL
The CEO of the Canterbury Bulldogs in the NRL is a woman
How are the clubs travelling?
Didn't Coburg have a female President when they were almost extinct before Richmond merged with them?
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Because Australian males r the most sexist in the world.
Not sure if you're extracting the urine here Oxx but that was spoken like someone who has never actually been outside Australia...either that or takes the Daily Life section in The Age far more seriously than anyone with an IQ above double figures should.
Extraction.
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How are the clubs travelling?
Canterbury are one of the strongest and profitable clubs in the NRL so I'd say they are travelling very well
Didn't Coburg have a female President when they were almost extinct before Richmond merged with them?
Coburg had a female president during their alignment with Richmond not prior
Northern Bullants in the VFL also had a female president for a number of years
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I'm happy for female's to be appointed to positions within the club if they are the best person for the job.
I believe in true equality not feminisme .
RFC should be put their time and effort plus members money into winning games , we are not a political party where we need to drive social agenda such as afirmative action, we are a football club and all other social and political agendas should be secondary.
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The club should stop pee-farting around then and get fairdinkum with their Emily's list agenda.
They could start by sacking FJ & appoint a good looking female recruiting officer. Why don't they ask Megan if she wants the job? Could she do any worse? Can you Imagine Dangerfield turning down an offer to join Richmond if she were doing the negotiations?
And let's not stop there...
Once Hardwick gets the arse they could appoint Jennifer Hawkins as senior coach. How awe inspired and gee'd up would the players be after one of Jenn's pre-match addresses?
If Peggy doesn't work out we could try Christina Pagniacci (aka Cameron Diaz) who did a supurb job with the Miami Sharks......
:jump :rollin :jump
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#evilwearsblueties.
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Before Peggy was appointed, I was unsure.
At the halfway point of last season, I was unconvinced.
At times, the approach Richmonds leadership is taking seems like an experiment - it is so foreignto how we have managed the club
Whether you like it or not, you'd have to concede it makes for a refreshing change.
Jury's still out but I am personally hopeful
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Agree HRT.
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Nothing wrong with the way Penny has gone about it,
She was appointed to break up the two factions! It is the political agenda of affirmative action at a football club that I think is not appropriate.
Happy for football politics but not social politics within our football club.