We Should Be Able To Criticise Tayla Harris

These days the sporting realm represents an undercooked piece of toast -- beige and disappointing.

There are few bad guys, or good guys (or girls) and the banter between players is stale at best.

It's a sterile environment thanks to the public relations police tending to shut down anything vaguely interesting, and sport stars are known to tip-toe around press conferences barely offering any insight that reporters couldn't already determine themselves.

Any sports journalist knows you'd be hard pressed to get anything headline-worthy out of our footy stars. Instead, they churn out the same cliched lines.

"We just need to play four quarters of football."

"It was a team effort ."

"We take it one week at a time."

"They were just better on the day."

*yawns*

Whatever happened to the good ol' days when players used to rip into each other before a big match? Offer on field sledges before unleashing during media conferences?

Or remember that one time in the '90s when Adelaide coach Malcolm Blight called his ruckman David Pittman "pathetic".

It's part of sport. The old-school rivalries are what shaped our leagues and competitions into what they are today.

Thankfully the relatively newly formed AFLW -- where media training has clearly been scarce -- is offering a no-filter approach to the game. Well, Collingwood's Stacey Livingstone is at least.

Imagine you're high on adrenaline, you open our mouth and the words don't exactly form as you intended but they have now become a central part of the AFLW's history.

It seems that's precisely what happened when Pies defender Livingstone branded Carlton's Tayla Harris "useless" in her post-match interview.

Livingstone was instrumental in the Pies' 15-point win over the Blues at Ikon Park, keeping Harris to just six disposals, two marks and one goal while racking up 15 touches of her own.

When asked about Harris' game she didn't hold back when describing how to shut down the key forward."You just have to stop her in the air, that's her game. If you can do that, she's useless."

Burn.

Maybe I'm wrong and Livingstone meant it exactly how she said it. Either way, it's bloody refreshing -- and this is coming from a die-hard Carlton supporter.

Livingstone had the guts to say what a lot of people were thinking, and she wasn't immune to a social media deluge of angry Blues fans who were triggered by her remarks.

Although others (including Carlton fans) agreed it is exactly what the game needs.

"She is the hero we need right now. Shake away the media managers and let the players loose," one supporter wrote.

They're both grown women and their on-field performance is fair game. Perhaps this cutting comment will help Harris rather than harm her. Perhaps it will spur her on to a virtuoso performance when she next plays her antagonist. It's the stuff comeback legends are made off.

Livingstone's takedown is not the problem -- social media is. Because what promptly followed was unfortunately all too familiar, and something that will likely never fully abate, with the comment creating another social media soundbite for keyboard warriors to emerge and hurl abuse at Harris.

The responses came in thick and fast. Everyone was an expert, and suddenly what should have been remained as healthy banter on the footy field became a disproportionate free-for-all from either the PR police or the trolls, or both.

This isn’t about these athletes not being able to handle criticism. If you've seen Harris in a boxing ring you'll know she can hold her own. That extends to the footy field and online.

It is not about the right to voice opinions about the game either. If Livingstone made that comment about any other player it would not have gathered the same interest nor response.

In case you're not familiar, Harris' short career has been marred by controversy. She's been the poster girl for targeted attacks after a spectacular image of her -- taken by AFL photographer Michael Wilson -- went viral last year.

The rage continued when the AFL decided to immortalize her in bronze- in the form of a statue in Melbourne's Federation Square, with many punters missing the message entirely.

Harris takes it all in her stride though.

“I’m really not phased by it (the comment),” Harris told News Corp on Monday morning.

So if Harris can let it go, why can't we?

Even Essendon legend Tim Watson agreed that unfiltered words are refreshing in footy.

"It's just brutal honesty, that's what it is," he told SEN.

"I guarantee you if this was the AFL and someone said that about an opponent post-game, there would be a PR exercise post-game where they'd back away from it.

"The coach or the staff of the club would say, 'You've created too much rivalry, you've given them too much ammunition and just pull back on your comments'."

And that's why the game is borderline boring.

We aren't used to players speaking the truth and we've grown accustomed to the dull environment. Perhaps that needs to change, if the PR police will let it.

This might gone down in history as the first time an AFLW player has openly sledged an opponent, but hopefully it's not the last.

Sport thrives off controversy and Livingstone's words are just the stimulant it desperately needs.

Contact the author elyons@networkten.com.au