Why sponsorship money shouldn't mean more problems for Australian sports amid Netball Australia drama

The Diamonds' courage standing up to mining giant Hancock Prospecting and Gina Rinehart despite the $15 million carrot dangled in the face of a cash-strapped Netball Australia raised an interesting question about whether the relationship between sports and their sponsors will become more complicated going forward.

Sport Integrity Research Lead at the University of Canberra, Associate Professor Catherine Ordway, predicts the additional pressure on sports to be more mindful about where their money comes from is actually not as complex as it may seem.

"In a way it's much simpler," she said.

"Sport organisations and individuals have become clearer in their own understanding and articulation of their values, so that means that sponsors that reflect those values will want to be involved with those sports and athletes.

"The argument about netball at the moment is how can we manage without mining companies? Well, we used to say that about cigarette companies.

"We've also said that about alcohol sponsorship and I'm sure we're going to get to that point around fast food too.

"I'm hoping we also won't be as reliant on gambling, because Australia has gone down a path that is very destructive on that, and around the world they haven't gone as far as we have to be so reliant on gambling money."

Professor Ordway said that modern sponsorship trends are inevitably going to evolve and adapt over time, reflecting the changing values of society.

"We need to ask what role does sport play in society," she said.

"If it's about health, fun, vitality, joy, friendships, and building communities, which companies help them do that?

"Sports have to be smarter, and that's what we're seeing.

"There are wonderful companies with brilliant minds out there working in areas that are really sustainable, positive, applying good energy to do good things with good people, and they are the companies sports want to get involved with."

Netball Australia's embarrassing standoff with its own players was in contrast to the Socceroos' activism against the treatment of migrant workers and homosexuals in Qatar, where they will compete in the FIFA World Cup next month.

Football Australia released a statement supporting the moving three-minute video released on Thursday that featured 16 Socceroos speaking powerfully about their values in the national team and calling for meaningful action.

Professor Ardway supported the players' methods, choosing to use their voice without needing to boycott, which she argued is a less "nuanced" approach which unfairly hurts the individuals in the team.

To the critics of the Diamonds and Socceroos, who follow Rinehart's assertion that it is "unnecessary for sports organisations to be used as the vehicle for social or political causes", Professor Ordway encouraged them to embark on some self-reflection.

"The kind of people saying athletes should stay in their own lane, and sit down and shut up, they represent the status quo," she said.

"They don't want change because it suits them to have the power imbalance as it is.

"They want to silence people because they're the beneficiaries.

"They see this as a win-lose and us-them equation instead of seeing that we're all humans on this planet and we have to work out a way to be fair and share, and frankly, show more love."

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