‘The world has gone soft:’ AFL change divides footy world as player weights no longer published

The AFL will not include player weights in its 2024 season guide in a divisive decision that has sparked online debate, with one outspoken commentator labelling it “soft.” It’s also drawn the ire of a current player, who labelled the move ““completely bizarre”. Player weights were a commonly listed stat along with age and height but it will no longer appear in AFL publications however they are still listed on club websites and on draft profiles. The publication’s editor, Ash Browne, confirmed the change and said it came as a directive from the league. “It’s a new AFL policy to not reveal player weights – I’m just a messenger here, by the way. This was an AFL decision,” Browne told SEN. “They’ve decided in this day and age it is inappropriate for weights to public matter, in a publication like the season guide. “They would say that people support that it’s not appropriate to publish weights and that it’s private information now.” AFLW player weights have not been listed due in part to some concerns over fat shaming and mental health but this is a new move for the men’s game. Premiership-winning Eagle Will Schofield said the move was an “embarrassment” to the league. “This is a complete embarrassment. Why? What’s the reason????” he said. Outspoken AFL analyst Kane Cornes accused the AFL of going soft believing the information is in the public’s interest. “The world has gone so soft. I can’t believe it,” he said. “You’re a professional athlete. You’re not an influencer on social media. Any other sport I can look that up. I can tell you Travis Kelce was 113kg. His quarterback Patrick Mahomes weighs 102kg. “No longer in my role as a commentator can I say Jake Lever is playing on Charlie Curnow, Curnow has an 8kg advantage – he should take him deep to the goal square.” Cornes said fans deserved to know how their favourite stars were tracking during a season and it was all a part of sport. “Are they going to ban us from knowing that Caleb Daniel is 168cm? He could easily be offended by being one of the shortest players in the game,” he added. “They’re not accountants, they’re not nurses, they’re not lawyers – they’re professional athletes where your body is your job for goodness sake.” North Melbourne’s Charlie Comben also weighed into the debate, arguing that the statistic helps paint a physical picture of players, particularly when it comes to match-ups. “We are professional athletes, I find this completely bizarre,” Comben wrote on X. “Part of our job is to present the best physical version of ourselves to perform.” When questioned on why it matters from a player’s point of view, Comben responded: “So rarely is anyone solely judged from a weight perspective, purely one part of information that helps paint a physical picture. “As a key (position player) I will obviously struggle to perform in areas against a bigger opponent and I don’t see why that shouldn’t be public.” However, fans were more divided on the issue. “Weights always changing and not like it’s an important to know for an AFL footballer. You’d know there’s a lot more information which can be measured. Visceral fat levels and muscle mass levels give far more insight than a players weight. Body scanning is the way to go,” one X user (formerly Twitter) posted. “On the one hand it’s no big deal or the other it’s further evidence that we have a whole group of people who are pretty fragile if their weight being listed causes them issues,” another posted. But there were plenty of fans who believed this was a symptom of the AFL and other sports going increasingly “woke.” “So the AFL players weights are no longer being published In a competitive sport where size and weight matters... Next it’ll be height Disposal efficiency Gender,” one user posted. “Players weight not included in the AFL Season Guide. World is cooked,” another posted.