By RUSSELL BENNETT
ONE punch is all it could take to kill somebody.
It’s a message that is starting to sink in at sporting clubs right around Australia, but one that still needs to be emphasised.
The Bunyip Football and Netball Club supported ‘Step Back. THINK’ against Nyora on Saturday to raise awareness and help drive a cultural change to end the scourge of social violence.
To show their support for the cause, Bunyip’s players in the thirds, reserves and seniors in the footy, and A, B and C Grade in the netball wore orange laces as part of the ‘Lace Up Against Social Violence’ initiative from ‘Step Back. THINK’.
Last Thursday, more than 100 people from local sporting circles including football, netball and soccer – as well as the wider community – attended a special ‘Step Back. THINK’ presentation at the clubrooms.
Football club president Alan Wright emphasised how important the message is.
“We want to make sure our people are spreading the right message throughout the community,” he said.
“Every day you turn the TV on, it seems like one of these one punch situations has happened.
“There was an incident that could have escalated in our area recently but the boys acted appropriately and defused the situation.
“The message is working, it is getting out there.
“The more we talk about it the better.”
Drouin local Kerry ‘Kez’ Kistemaker has taken her own initiative – One Punch Campaign Australia (OPCA) – out to local sporting and community clubs and has received support from the likes of Gippsland Umpires Association, the Nar Nar Goon-Maryknoll Cricket Club and a host of EDFL clubs – including Bunyip. It was through her own presentation at the Ellinbank Football and Netball Club that the Bulldogs got involved.
“In November 2010 my son had a very close mate who was un-provokingly punched, and as a result of that he died,” she said in a video message on the OPCA Facebook Page.
“We made the trip down to the hospital and unfortunately had to stand there while my son said his last goodbyes to this very close mate of his.
“No one can find the words to describe how absolutely devastating this is for the family, for the work colleagues, for the friends, and for the community. You just can’t find the words – it’s absolutely devastating.
“I think that if we can get this message out there in the forefront of people’s minds to talk about it – the more we talk about things, the more unacceptable they are.”
One punch is all it takes.
