Fremantle Dockers captain Alex Pearce admits addressing the club’s major sponsor Woodside at a clean energy summit makes him “uncomfortable”.
But he believes that while boards and clubs make the ultimate decision, community members and fans can have a significant sway.
Pearce spoke to an audience of 200 people at the Global Citizen NOW: Perth event on Monday as part of a panel about Protecting the Places we Play.
When asked by moderator and AFLW St Kilda player Nicola Barr how he was faring after the Dockers devastating grand final loss, Pearce said it had been a work in progress.
“If you asked me two weeks ago, I would have a very different answer. But no, I’m going well physically and emotionally,” he said.
“The support of our community in Fremantle has been incredible, and I think like all Dockers fans, I went through a few stages of grief over the week post the game.
“But I’ve got through it and been able to see the season for what it was, and was very proud of what we were able to achieve along with all of our fans.”
Barr went on to ask Pearce a question which inevitably stirred up the audience: “How much of a say do you think players should have when a sponsor’s values don’t line up with your own?”
Pearce’s response was honest, and he did not shy away from the controversial topic.
“I’m not sure why I’ve gotten this question,” he said with a laugh.
“Look, I’m really glad that this is a hard question to answer, and I’m really glad that it’s a topic that’s discussed, and it’s controversial because I think it does show that within the community, we can have influence on who sponsors our teams and who sponsors different areas within our community.”
Oil and gas titan Woodside has sponsored the Dockers since 2010 and fans have not been quiet about their distaste towards the partnership.
A petition urging the Dockers to ditch Woodside was signed by 8000 people back in 2023, when the sponsorship deal was up for renewal.
Recently Kevin Parker, Tame Impala frontman and the Fremantle Dockers’ number one ticket holder was spotted sporting his team’s jersey while performing on the band’s Deadbeat tour in America, but had blocked out the Woodside logo.
“Often these decisions are made at boardroom level and are out of our hands and are out of the fans and members’ hands,” Pearce said.
“But we’ve seen plenty of instances where public opinion has been able to affect change, and ultimately the boardrooms and the presidents who run our sporting organisations and our community areas are serving the members and fans and players and those that are taking part.
“So we do, as fans, players, leaders, have influence in some of these decisions. Sometimes it’s hard, and we have to use that influence in different ways.
“But the fact that I’m up here getting asked that question, it’s a little bit uncomfortable, but I think is a great thing, and as I said, it shows that no matter how big that influence is, no matter who you are as a stakeholder, you can have influence in what goes into funding our sports and our community programs.”
Pearce grew up in Tasmania and said sport has been a central part of his life, but said he worries about what sport could look like for future generations as climate change continues to make temperatures hotter.
“To think about what sport could look like in years down the track in 2050 or 2080, when we hear from climate scientists about what the world could look like, the temperature that we could get to, the increase in natural disasters we’ve already seen over the last decade,” he said.
“Looking and thinking about these next generations of young athletes growing up in Australia, for our national fabric to potentially shift and to not revolve around playing sport in the summer and being outside and having that opportunity that I did growing up is really frightening.”
Pearce said the Dockers are familiar with playing and training in warm temperatures but unlike community sporting teams, have access to a plethora of health services.
“Thirteen years ago when I started playing football, training in the summer in Perth is really hot, and we had a bit of an old school mentality of the heat makes us better, and water is for the weak, and you just push through, and you be strong, and you find a way to get through,” he said.
“Whereas now, over the last couple of years, we have had lots of conversations with our medical team and players about how we’re going to navigate the heat, how we’re going to stay safe.
“But I have access to all of these resources. I have two doctors on hand for every training session, multiple strength and conditioning staff, and what seems like unlimited funds to help.
“All of our community sports throughout Australia don’t have access to this.”
Pearce said it sparks a necessary conversation around whether things need to change in terms of how sports are played in Australia.
“The problem here is: are we putting our children at risk and our community sports teams and players at risk by continuing to play as we always have done and do we need to rethink how we go about our sport?” he said.
“As a leader of a professional sporting organisation, do we have a responsibility for these junior and community sporting groups to help keep them safe and have a duty of care to ensure that they can play and train safely, just as we do.”