High Flyer

WHEN A VIRAL PHOTO OF HER ATTRACTED SEXIST TROLLING, AFLW PLAYER TAYLA HARRIS FOUGHT BACK. A YEAR LATER, AS SHE LAUNCHES HER BOOK ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE, SHE TELLS ELLE WHAT SHE LEARNT

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When Michael Willson’s photo of me kicking a footy went viral, nobody expected the reaction – least of all me. The image went up on one of Channel Seven’s social media channels and some of the comments were so offensive that they pulled the post down, photo included. I remember checking my phone and seeing that the photo was gone. I was glad that I didn’t have to see the trolls’ revolting comments anymore, but it didn’t feel right that the image was gone, too. It was a cool photo by a great photographer – why shouldn’t my family and friends and footy fans get to see it?

I decided to repost it on my Instagram and Twitter accounts. No big deal. I was still pretty rattled by the trolling and I didn’t want the episode to pass without some sort of personal response so I added a couple of captions. I thought about the wording for a minute, keyed in what I wanted to say, and posted it. I assumed that was as far as it would go. The rest is history. The outpouring of support and sympathy blew me away. And I don’t just mean online comments; all forms of media got on board with the story.