Australian Olympic heroes get place of honor at AFL grand final – here’s why some footy fans aren’t happy

Footy fans have been left scratching their heads after a host of Olympians were included in the AFL Grand Final motorcade normally reserved for retired players and champions of the sport.

While a host of retired players and Brownlow medalist Patrick Cripps were present and accountable, fans were shocked to see the addition of other athletes.

Australian Olympic and Paralympic stars including Alexa Leary, Mollie O’Callaghan, Ariarne Titmus and Emma McKeon also paraded around in the Toyota Hilux’s doing laps of the MCG.

‘I don’t understand why we honor our Olympians, it’s not about them! it’s about the footballers moving on,” one viewer wrote.

“Surprised Raygun wasn’t part of the grand finale column,” another joked.

‘I’m sorry, but the Olympic Games have nothing to do with football. why are they there with prizes and players retiring?’ asked another.

Olympic swimmers Emma McKeon and Ariarne Titmus wave during the lap of honor ahead of the 2024 AFL finals

Olympian Mollie O’Callaghan and inspirational Paralympian star Alexa Leary were also in attendance

Others wondered why Olympians and Paralympians were singled out, and not champion athletes from other codes.

“You might as well be parading Jared Waerea-Hargreaves from the NRL Sydney Roosters,” one person posted.

“Can someone explain why the AFL is expelling Olympians? Next they will have a Lionel Messi motif,” another added.

Most of the anger came from football fans who felt AFL legends were being disrespected in favor of the Olympians and Paralympians.

Richmond superstar Dustin Martin, recently retired Melbourne AFL premiership player Ben Brown and Collingwood premiership defender Nathan Murphy, who was forced into early retirement by concussion, were all notable absentees.

“So Ben Brown isn’t being honored, an absolute icon of the game, but we’ve had the Olympians take a spin here?” one fan asked.

“I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and that maybe Murph refused to be part of the motorcade, but IF they really decided to bypass the Olympians over a premiership player who retired due to head bumps then that’s a shame,” said another .

Ben Brown, who had a long and distinguished AFL career, was strangely not present

Collingwood defender Nathan Murphy, who had to retire due to a concussion, was also not there

“I understand there would be contracts with Toyota about the number of cars, but why do we have Olympians if there are 20 retirees not in the column?” asked another viewer.

‘Should I be showing a lot of Toyota Hilux’s in the #AFLGF Pre-match I think, and that’s why random Olympians are dropping by?’ asked another.

“I understand that the Olympians and Paralympians have done a great job. But this is not a day for them… This is a day for the AFL and this convoy is for the sport’s retired stars and great achievers. And why weren’t so many retirees there? I don’t like this shot at all,” posted another.

Others defended the AFL’s move, especially for the Paralympians.

“Seeing so many of our brilliant athletes doing a lap of honor on the ‘G’ on GF Day is the tip of the iceberg of what they deserve,” one viewer posted with the hashtag #AUSParalympics.

“How good to bypass the Aussie Olympians at the ‘G’, posted another.