At some point, the outrage gives way to exhaustion and I’m tired of reading or hearing about men dismissing women in sport.

When it was reported that former North Melbourne players, including Sam Kekovich and John Burns, said they would boycott the club’s centenary celebration because the women’s premiership was being celebrated “next to” the men’s, they didn’t just make a sexist statement, they made a tired one.

The implication that women’s achievements somehow diminish men’s legacies isn’t just offensive anymore. It’s boring.

It’s important to note this function isn’t a reunion of the 1975 flag win, it is a centenary celebration of the club.

A club whose history now involves women, and those women created their own history by going undefeated in a season and winning the premiership.

Sexism in sport has long been dressed up as tradition, hierarchy or preference. But in 2025, there’s nothing new, interesting, or relevant about an older man in footy feeling uncomfortable sharing space with elite women athletes.

It doesn’t spark debate. It doesn’t deserve a platform. It just adds to the never-ending list of women forced to defend their right to exist in the game.

How many times must female athletes be asked to prove they’re worthy of their guernsey, their flag, or their space in the changerooms or on the honour boards?

Because here’s the truth: Women don’t need to justify their premierships. They don’t need to defend themselves or their achievements, all just to compete in a system that still pays them less, supports them less, but questions them more.

And yet, time and time again, they’re forced to - not by opponents on the field, but by people within their own clubs.

Let’s be clear: Men do not own football. They do not own premierships. They do not own clubs.

Every banner waved, every membership sold, every ticket punched at the turnstile belongs to all of us, not just the men who played in the 1970s.

When Kekovich won his premiership in 1975, it was a brilliant moment for the North Melbourne Football Club.

But when the AFLW side broke through nearly 50 years later to claim their own flag, it was no less historic. No less meaningful. No less North. No less Shinboner.

That should be something we’re proud of. Not something that divides us.

Women in sport have never asked to take the place of men. They’ve asked to stand alongside them - with equal respect, equal resources, and equal recognition. Resistance to that doesn’t make anyone look noble or nostalgic.

I don’t expect every premiership player to have a deep connection with every iteration of their club, but it is important to realise and to understand that clubs are not museums.

They’re living, evolving communities that grow and expand because of the wide demographic of fans, and now players, who keep showing up and making them stronger.

The irony? AFLW players aren’t trying to erase the legacy of men like Kekovich. They’re trying to build on it. The only ones undermining that legacy are the ones who refuse to share the stage.

Ultimately, it’s simple: Misogyny isn’t just wrong, it’s outdated. Sexism isn’t powerful, it’s dull. And the conversation about whether women belong in footy?

That’s over. They already do.