An ex-WAG has blasted the culture of the AFL and its acceptance of women, likening her time dating a footballer to a “cult”.
In an interview with The Herald Sun, Cassie Lane, the former girlfriend of ex-Collingwood star Alan Didak, said she felt the need to shine a light on a community she believes needs to be better for women.
"It is like a cult,” she said. “It is a crazy world.
“You live in the shadow of your partner."
Lane and Didak dated between 2004 and 2006, with Lane attending the 2006 Brownlow only to find herself on the worst dressed list. She said this, combined with the pressures of the limelight, exacerbated issues with her self-confidence and body image.
“I think the AFL culture is still very sexist, women are not represented well, they are under-represented even though they make up half of the supporter base," she said.
“It is this glorified role, every Melbourne girl wants to be a WAG because we are taught it is this amazing, celebrated, venerated role, but actually when you get there you are celebrated not because of who you are, you are celebrated because of your partner’s achievements and there is a hierarchy.
“It is sort of like living in the 16th century. Your status is completely dependent on your partner.”
Lane's stance is at odds with other women who have spoken to Mamamia in the past, including Nadia Bartel.
Through her experiences, Lane has written a book about her time as a WAG in her debut book How To Dress A Dummy. You can find it here.
Top Comments
The last thing I'd ever want to ever see is my daughter becoming an AFL or NRL wag and I'd be rolling in my grave to have my son become an AFL or NRL player. The amount of turning a blind eye to philandering and adultery by high profile footy player WAGs just to keep up appearances, the amount of things hushed before they make papers and plus many of the AFL players not thinking anything morally wrong by their actions off the field since there is no consequence for their actions even if married with kids makes me wonder why they are idolised and why would you as a WAG want to walk down the brownlow carpet with that hanging off your arm knowing full well nobody cares about you (even your footy player) and that all you are is an image protectorate ?
i never want my daughter to be a WAG and to that effect i never want my son to be an AFL footballer either. The AFL churn them up and spit them out the other side and they (both the men and their WAGS) are treated like celebrities and lorded over then when they fall off the wagon the media laughs and points. At the end of the day he is playing sport and she happens to be dating him. Big deal. neither is rocket science. Aim higher