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Sam Kerr will always be remembered as one of the greatest women\u2019s players to grace the game, but one drunken night out in London<\/a> has raised questions over the Australian superstar\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.<\/a><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n The 31-year-old Chelsea striker, who is mixed race, issued a public apology despite being found not guilty on Wednesday of racially aggravated abuse of a police officer in the early hours of January 30, 2023. <\/p>\n Kerr was recorded calling the policeman \u201cstupid and white\u201d but claimed she did not use \u201cwhiteness as an insult\u201d.<\/p>\n The judge said after the verdict: \u201cI take the view her own behaviour contributed significantly to the bringing of this allegation.\u201d <\/p>\n In a statement, Kerr apologised for \u201cexpressing myself poorly on what was a traumatic evening\u201d, with the case threatening to leave an indelible mark on an otherwise unblemished career.<\/p>\n Whether the case has a lasting impact remains to be seen. Kerr has not played football in over a year after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL).<\/p>\n Football Australia chief James Johnson refused to speculate during the trial on her future with the national team and whether she should remain captain and in a statement on Wednesday, FA was noncommittal on the matter.<\/p>\n COMMENT: How full 34-min police tape changed my mind on Kerr <\/a><\/b><\/p>\n New footage emerges from Kerr arrest | 01:55<\/p>\n \u201cFootball Australia invests heavily in building the behavioural standards and expectations of all involved with our game, especially for all our national team players, where leadership comes with added responsibilities on and off the field,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n \u201cFootball Australia will reflect with Sam on learnings from this matter and we will continue to provide appropriate support for her moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Interim Australia coach Tom Sermanni said last week he expected Kerr to be fit for selection when the Matildas host South Korea in April, but he too declined to comment on whether she was the right person to lead the side.<\/p>\n The Australian Financial Review\u2019s<\/a> Myriam Robin, in an opinion piece, wrote that Kerr\u2019s suitability to be skipper \u201chas more to do with public opinion, and its tolerance for entitled or idiotic athletes behaving badly\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThat tolerance has, lately, been shrinking,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Erin Smith of Code Sports<\/a> was adamant Kerr should be \u201cstripped of her Matildas\u2019 captain armband and banned from any leadership roles\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the captain of any of our national men\u2019s teams, the Socceroos included, had been found drunk in a taxi, mid-season, and using deplorable language they would have been stood down from the role immediately,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cSo why should Kerr get any special treatment?\u201d <\/p>\n Well, The West Australian\u2019s<\/a> Kate Emery went some way to answering that question in an opinion piece where she argued the trial was a \u201cwaste of everyone\u2019s time\u201d, adding the not-guilty verdict was the \u201conly good bit of news\u201d to come out of the entire ordeal.<\/p>\n \u201cAn almighty mess of a bad night that should never have made it to the courts and turned into a two-year-long circus,\u201d Emery added.<\/p>\n \u201cWas Kerr, who has Anglo-Indian heritage, acting like a drunken prat when she said those four words to a police officer during a dispute over a taxi fare after a night out? Sure. <\/p>\n \u201cWas she racially abusing the cop when she did so? Nope.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it seems like the jury that returned a not-guilty verdict agreed with me.\u201d<\/p>\n Emery went on to write that it \u201cwould be a shame\u201d if this incident, and the commentary that followed, \u201ctainted\u201d Kerr\u2019s reputation in the long-term.<\/p>\n \u201cParticularly given the drunken antics Australia\u2019s male sporting heroes have long gotten away with, even been lionised for,\u201d she added, arguing the double standards exposed by the Kerr saga with men often instead lauded for their \u201clarrikin spirit\u201d.<\/p>\n Emery also drew attention to the fact Kerr, and not her white fianc\u00e9 Kristie Mewis, was arrested for criminal damage over the broken taxi window despite defence lawyer Grace Forbes stressing that Mewis told police \u201ctime and time again that she had broken the window\u201d.<\/p>\n Kerr’s fiance defends her character | 00:55<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a broader point to be made here \u2014 one that came up at trial \u2014 which is that there is a difference between insulting a caucasian person for their race and insulting a non-white person for theirs,\u201d Emery wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cThat difference comes down to one word: power. Racism is prejudice plus power. Historically, in our western world it is white people who have held the power and non-white people who have not. Overwhelmingly that remains true today.\u201d<\/p>\n The same is also true for women\u2019s safety concerns, as Sam Squiers wrote in a comment piece for <\/a>foxsports.com.au<\/a><\/i>. Nadia Russell of The Sydney Morning Herald<\/a> also empathised Kerr\u2019s situation while recalling her experience with one Uber driver who got lost and then instead of \u201capologising for the inconvenience\u201d proceeded to \u201cturn on\u201d her.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been in Sam Kerr\u2019s shoes, and not only do I completely understand her behaviour during her infamous exchange with a constable in a Twickenham police station, I don\u2019t have a problem with it,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, former NZ Football Fern and Team Heroine Founder Rebecca Sowden asked on LinkedIn if anyone else felt \u201cuncomfortable\u201d watching the Kerr trial unfold. <\/p>\n \u201cBefore smashing a taxi window to \u2018escape\u2019, Kerr & partner, Kristie Mewis feared they were being kidnapped after the driver locked the doors & windows, drove erratically & wouldn\u2019t stop (after Kerr spit-vomited out the window),\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever I take a taxi\/uber, particularly at night I study the driver ID & am on high alert. Sadly, I\u2019m sure many women go through similar \u2018fears\u2019 when doing other \u2018day-to-day\u2019 activities (taxis, jogging, walking to your car at night\u2026). Feeling afraid during daily activities should not be, but is the reality for many women.\u201d<\/p>\n Federal Sports Minister Anika Wells also threw her support behind Kerr, saying \u201cthe more we find out about the incident the more you can understand why they\u2019ve acted the way they have\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201c… Sam certainly has Australia behind her.\u201d<\/p>\n But that isn\u2019t necessarily the case. <\/p>\n Kerr audio from taxi played in court | 00:56<\/p>\n As The Guardian\u2019s<\/a> Kieran Pender wrote, the not-guilty verdict \u201cdoes little to quell bigger questions about the ongoing reputational fallout, including Kerr\u2019s future as captain of the national team and the face of women\u2019s football in Australia\u201d.<\/p>\n He mentioned the additional context that was brought up throughout the trial in Kerr\u2019s favour, including the Matildas star telling the court that after she vomited out the window the driver allegedly acted \u201ccrazy\u201d and refused to let them leave.<\/p>\n Kerr went on to tell the court that he locked the doors and started heading in an unknown direction, adding that she felt \u201cterrified\u201d for her life while Mewis feared it was a \u201ckidnapping\u201d<\/p>\n Pender also referenced Kerr\u2019s citing of the Claremont serial killer, along with the fact she felt like she was treated differently by police because of \u201cthe colour of my skin\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cFor Kerr\u2019s detractors, this wider context obscures the central point: here was an entitled millionaire footballer, drunk, vomiting in the back of a taxi, and then using rude language as police officers sought to de-escalate the situation,\u201d Pender added.<\/p>\n \u201c… As the evidence over the past week revealed, there are competing kinds of privilege at play here \u2013 with enough material for those on either side of the debate to claim vindication. The video footage is not flattering to Kerr; the context explains, even excuses, say her backers.\u201d<\/p>\n So, the big question: what does this all mean for Kerr and her standing in women\u2019s football?<\/p>\n Kerr made her Australia debut aged just 15 and has gone on to become one of the world\u2019s best players.<\/p>\n She was the face of the 2023 World Cup on home soil after her profile soared to new heights when she moved to Chelsea in 2020 and steered them to the domestic double.<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s all-time leading scorer, among men or women, with 69 goals in 128 appearances, Kerr has been shortlisted for the women\u2019s Ballon d\u2019Or and nominated for the Best FIFA Women\u2019s Player consistently since 2017.<\/p>\n Named \u201cYoung Australian of the Year\u201d in 2018, Kerr was hailed as \u201cinspirational, well-grounded, professional and mature\u201d, helping drive change in Australian football with a minimum wage now in place and players treated as professionals.<\/p>\n Pender wrote that \u201ceven before the verdict it was clear things will not be the same\u201d for Kerr or Australian football.<\/p>\n \u201cThe extent to which this incident tarnishes a glittering career, or is relegated to a footnote, remains to be seen,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cFor many, in these polarised times, the answer to that question was predetermined before the trial had even commenced.\u201d<\/p>\n Kerr officer challenged over motives | 01:50<\/p>\n It is a similar point to the one made by the Australian Financial Review\u2019s<\/a> Hans van Leeuwen, who wrote that Kerr was \u201cexonerated by the jury unanimously, but the court of public opinion remains divided\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWho was belittling whom? Who was racist to whom? Everyone has a view, and there\u2019s no chance of a universal verdict,\u201d he added, referencing the fact that while many women are \u201csympathetic\u201d to Kerr\u2019s situation, the \u201cfurious commentary\u201d in reaction to the case suggests she has \u201clost a lot of admirers\u201d.<\/p>\n