Chelsea boss Hayes praises Fran Kirby for calling out body shaming of players within women’s game
EMMA HAYES hailed Fran Kirby for speaking out against the body shaming of female footballers and its effect on how they manage nutrition.
The Chelsea boss believes the media need to be mindful of the impact of remarks on players’ physiques.
Hayes, whose side face Aston Villa today, was sharing her thoughts on Kirby’s comments aired in Chelsea’s ‘Nothing to Lose’ documentary
The interview was shared on the club’s YouTube channel on Thursday – two days after Kirby’s goal scoring return to the Lionesses first eleven.
The player netted for England for the first time since the Euros semis last August and following her return to fitness from a knee injury sustained in February.
In the video Kirby talks candidly about the role nutrition plays in injury prevention for players as well aiding their recovery.
The Blues forward, 30, believes worries around consuming carbs and pressure around body image can affect how athletes in women’s game handle nutrition.
Kirby, who has helped Chelsea win WSL titles, said: “As the game is growing, it has become more noticeable that people are getting comments about their weight, and how they look on TV or how they look in pictures.
“That shouldn’t matter – what body type you are, how you look in your dress, how you look in a kit. It’s something that should be championed to be strong.
“If that means that you have to eat more, you’re doing the right things that your body needs, not just because of how you look on camera.
“We’re seeing in the women’s game recently how many women are struggling (with these issues).
“There’s been research around it, but I don’t think it’s something that we’ve invested enough time into.”
Hayes, who is hoping to lead her team to their fourth win in five WSL games later, backed Kirby’s comments on the need to be mindful of body shaming.
The Blues chief said: “I wrote about this in a column during the World Cup.
“I spoke a lot about why I do not believe in the women’s game that we should have weigh-ins-or you should have body composition tests.
“The media need to be mindful of the insecurities that might be there and body shaming is a real thing.
“The players feel it and I’m proud of Fran for saying that because as women we’re judged enough to look a certain way.
“But in order to perform at the level that you need to eat carbs, as well as a healthy diet and unfortunately, there is a problem in the game.
“I’m not going to just limit it to the women’s game, there is a problem in sport with underfueling and underloading.
“That comes with the constant demands to look a certain way and, unfortunately, a vitriolic environment that comes from social media.
“I always urge everybody to be mindful of that because we’re destroying people in many ways.
“I’m really glad that Fran said out loud what so many female players do not say enough.”