Two weeks ago, Alex Pearce was filling his downtime in the same innocuous fashion as hundreds of other tech-savvy footballers – scrolling through social media on his phone.
The Dockers had just come off their fourth win of the season, notching up a grinding 18-point Anzac Day victory against Adelaide at Optus Stadium in Perth.
Fremantle captain Alex Pearce.
One particular post on Instagram captured the Fremantle captain’s attention.
Despite the often haphazard, irreverent or even mud-slinging nature of social media, this post was a pointed three-page statement from Belfast hip hop band Kneecap, defending their pro-Palestinian stance on Gaza. They condemned the killing of 20,000 children.
Pearce, a “very intelligent, thoughtful and empathetic person” according to a former Fremantle insider not authorised to speak on behalf of the Dockers, liked and then shared the message on his own account.
The problem for Pearce was that Kneecap was no ordinary, every day band.
Staunch Irish republicans who sing in Gaelic, they were widely criticised last month for displaying anti-Israel signs on stage at the Coachella music festival such as “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” and, “It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes”.
In the ensuing fallout Kneecap were accused of being supporters of terror groups Hezbollah and Hamas.
A clip emerged showing a band member on a London stage in November draped in a Hezbollah flag, another video surfaced of a band member appearing to shout during a gig “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”, while the group posted a social media photo in February of a balaclava-clad group member reading a book of statements by slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin called on Kneecap to “urgently clarify” their position, to which the band quickly responded: “Let us be unequivocal: we do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah”.
Kneecap: Mo Chara, DJ Provai and Moglai Bap, in Melbourne.Credit: PENNY STEPHENS
Pearce was soon criticised by members of the Perth Jewish community in an article in The West Australian for causing them anger and disappointment because he shared Kneecap’s social media post.
By the time Fremantle played their next game, a 61-point loss to St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on May 2, the controversy had spilled into Melbourne.
Freelance journalist Ronny Lerner, who works as a contributor for the Herald Sun, asked Dockers coach Justin Longmuir whether Pearce would apologise at “any stage” for causing the Jewish community “significant offence and distress”.
Lerner has expressed strident pro-Israel views on social media, posting on X in December that “Israel’s a liberal democracy fighting a war of self-defence”.
But Longmuir deflected Lerner’s question. He said the club had held discussions with the captain, but he would not elaborate any further.
A refusal to acknowledge the issue in AFL circles has become a standard response.
Fremantle, Pearce’s manager Tim Hazel, the AFL and the AFL Players Association have all declined to comment.
One of the few groups willing to discuss Pearce’s situation was the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, a peak body that represents about 200 Jewish schools, synagogues, sporting clubs, and cultural organisations.
Caleb Serong and Alex Pearce leave the field after their loss to St Kilda.Credit: AFL Photos
“It is immensely disappointing when someone who is admired for their skill and talent and has amassed a wide platform on that basis, uses that influence to advance divisive, objectionable political positions,” ECAJ co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin told this masthead.
“Mr Pearce will probably feel his endorsement of Kneecap is an expression of support for free speech or concern for Palestinians.
“But backing a group that fawns over Hezbollah and Hamas and used the occasion of a music festival to vilify Israelis when hundreds of young Israelis were slaughtered and violated at a very similar event, is jarring.
“I hope Mr Pearce will take the time to engage with the Jewish community to understand our perspective and perhaps make better choices in future.”
Whether Pearce will heed that suggestion is unknown.
On The Agenda Setters TV program, The Age’s Caroline Wilson said members of the AFL’s Jewish community were offended by Pearce’s actions, but no individuals have been identified publicly.
Fremantle are not a club known for having major sponsors with links to the Jewish community. Nor is the club known to have high-profile Jewish supporters.
It has been more aligned, according to one former club insider, to Indigenous culture.
But there was one person inside the AFL who was prepared to express an independent view – AFLW reporter and digital news producer Sophie Welsh.
She posted on X: “As a Jewish person in the AFL community, I’m very upset that people are conflating being against mass slaughter perpetrated by Israel with anti-Semitism. As a people, we have been subject to genocide ourselves, and perpetrating genocide in Judaism’s name is revolting.”
It was a similar sentiment offered in February by sportsman Usman Khawaja, the first Muslim and Pakistan-born cricketer to represent Australia.
“Standing up for the people of Gaza is not anti-Semitic nor does it have anything to do with my Jewish brothers and sisters in Australia but everything to do with the Israeli government and their deplorable actions,” Khawaja posted on Instagram.
“It has everything to do with justice and human rights.”
There are other individuals who have supported Pearce, such as former independent member of the Australian parliament Phil Cleary, who was a member of Coburg’s 1979 premiership side and coached the club to consecutive VFA/VFL premierships in 1988-89.
Former independent MP for Wills and Coburg premiership coach Phil Cleary.Credit: Luis Ascui
“Alex Pearce simply retweeted a Kneecap post that reflected what millions of people around the world – Jewish people included – think about what the Israeli army is doing in Gaza,” Cleary told this masthead.
“It was a post in defence of innocent women and children, not terrorism.
“Since the murder of my sister, Vicki, nearly 38 years ago, I have condemned the murderous war on women and children ravaging our society, and I’m not about to turn a blind eye to it in Gaza, or anywhere else.
“It took great courage for the Fremantle captain to stand in solidarity with the children – and the women – of Gaza.
“It makes him the kind of man, I’d want to be standing alongside at the annual, Vicki Cleary – End Men’s Violence Against Women – Day, at Coburg.”
It is easy on face value to see how Pearce was drawn to Kneecap, a band who attracted more than 10,000 people to Melbourne’s Federation Square for a free concert in March.
Pearce is one of six Indigenous players to have captained an AFL club, having traced his heritage to the Palawa people of Tasmania.
Kneecap – Mo Chara (Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh), Móglaí Bap (Naoise Ó Cairealláin), and DJ Próvaí (JJ Ó Dochartaigh) – have outspoken views on colonialism and the British rule of Northern Ireland. They are supportive of Indigenous cultures throughout the world.
Usman Khawaja has supported the people of Gaza.Credit: AP
Clips have been shown of the band waving an Aboriginal flag on stage, and 32-year-old Ó Cairealláin was quoted as saying: “There has been such a shame around Indigenous languages for so long because obviously western societies would like to claim it was savage”.
The problem for Pearce is that Kneecap are a political minefield for a footballer who might want to express his own political views.
When they performed at 170 Russell in Melbourne this year, the severed head from a statue of King George V, stolen from King’s Domain last year, was brought on stage.
That was one of their less controversial moments.
After Coachella, they were accused of being dangerous, amoral and spreading hate speech.
It led them to post the three-page statement on Instagram that was shared by Pearce.
It read: “Since our statement at Coachella – exposing the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people – we have faced a co-ordinated smear campaign. For over a year, we have used our shows to call out the British and Irish governments’ complicity in war crimes.
“The recent attacks against us, largely emanating from the US, are based on deliberate distortions and falsehoods. We are taking action against several of these malicious efforts.
“We do not give a f— what religion anyone practices. We know there are massive numbers of Jewish people outraged by this genocide just as we are. What we care about is that governments of the countries we perform in are enabling some of the most horrific crimes of our lifetimes – and we will not stay silent.
“No media spin will change this. Our only concern is the Palestinian people. The 20,000 murdered children and counting. The young people at our gigs see through the lies. They stand on the side of humanity and justice. And that gives us great hope.”
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