He stands 197cm and has a muscly physique honed through hours of punishing exercise in the gym and on the training ground – but that hasn’t stopped an AFL great from fat-shaming Hawthorn star Tom Barrass.
The 29-year-old has played a big role in helping the Hawks become premiership contenders this year, but he’s been targeted over his weight by commentator Kane Cornes after his team lost two straight to leave them seventh on the ladder.
The former Port Adelaide premiership winner turned Channel Seven star turned the blowtorch on Barrass over his weight and recent play on the broadcaster’s Agenda Setters program on Tuesday night.
‘I think he’s not fit enough,’ Cornes said.
‘I don’t have his skinfolds handy. I think you can look at the way he’s presenting.’
Skinfold tests are used by many sport teams to measure the thickness of the fat beneath players’ skin in order to work out their body composition.
Hawks star Tom Barrassed (pictured) has honed his body through countless hours in the gym and on the training field – but he’s still been called out over his weight
AFL great turned TV commentator Kane Cornes (pictured) believes Barrass’s skinfold tests would reveal he is carrying too much fat
The 197cm defender has played a big role as Hawthorn have stamped themselves as premiership contenders this year
However, the AFL banned the tests for draftees in April last year in order to prioritise stars’ mental health.
‘Body Composition assessments (excluding height and weight) will not be conducted in any Talent Pathways programs or on any athletes that are eligible to compete in the Pathways programs,’ read a memo from Dr Kate Hall, the head of the league’s mental health and wellbeing team.
‘Body weights will only be measured by qualified High Performance/Sport Scientists, Sports Dietitians, or Medical Practitioners, in a safe and private setting. All data collected must be kept private.’
And in January last year, the AFL refused to reveal players’ weights in the guide for the 2024 season in a first for the league.
On top of that, AFL teams no longer list their stars’ weights on their websites.
‘This was an AFL decision. They have decided in this day and age it is inappropriate for weights to be a public matter, even in a publication like ours,’ said Ash Browne, editor of The Record, which is often referred to as the ‘bible’ by footy fans.
‘They would say that people support that it’s not appropriate to publish [player] weights and that it is private information.’
Cornes slammed both moves when they became public.
Like every other AFL star, Barrass (pictured taking a mark against GWS) no longer has his weight publicised by the AFL, which also banned skinfold tests for young players
‘Can you believe it? I was alerted to this on Thursday … if you get your book [AFL Record] and you want to look up what [Collingwood star] Jordan De Goey weighs, you will no longer be able to find it,’ he fumed.
‘The world has gone so soft. I can’t believe it.
‘You are a professional athlete. You are not an influencer on social media. Any other sport I can look that [weight] up.
‘I can tell you [NFL star] Travis Kelce was 113kg. His quarterback Patrick Mahomes weighs 102kg.
‘No longer in my role as a commentator can I say [Melbourne Demons star] Jake Lever is playing on [Carlton key forward] Charlie Curnow … and Curnow has an 8kg advantage – he should take him deep to the goal square.
‘I can’t do that anymore because the AFL have said that we are that soft that we can’t include player weights in the Season Guide.
‘I don’t know where this is going to lead to.’
He was similarly scathing of the move to ban skinfold tests.
‘This is just ridiculous, what are we setting these players up for?’ Cornes asked.
‘They walk into an AFL club, they are going to have their skinfolds tested, so I would have thought getting them accustomed to it is a good thing.
‘Society has shifted, I understand that, but this isn’t your average person off the street; this is a person who is aspiring to become an elite athlete and elite athletes I have no issue calling a player overweight, none whatsoever.’
