Why do rugby league commentators still get Maori and Pacific names so wrong?

Last weekend league fans enjoyed a hearty menu of international rugby league, between the ANZAC Tests on Friday and the Pacific Tests on Saturday. But the games were marred by the continual mispronunciation of Maori and Pacific names by the Australian commentators, writes Emmaline Matagi.

I made a formal complaint to the NRL after the first round of this season. Why? To put it simply I am sick and tired and hurt that week after week the commentators consistently butcher our Maori and Pacific player names. The response I got from the NRL was basically ‘thanks for the message, we would love to fix it but the onus is on the networks who hire the commentators. Please forward your complaint to Fox and Seven, thanks.’ I thought it was a generic and underwhelming response for a company that prides itself on inclusion.

If you don’t understand why we get so annoyed and upset about hearing our names butchered, let’s have a quick lesson on the importance of a name to our people in the Pacific. Names aren’t just something fun and quirky that we give to a child when they are born. I do not know a single Maori or Pacific Island whanau who have opened a book of baby names to choose a name for their child. Names are often passed down from generation to generation and more often than not have some sort of spiritual and/or traditional connection. Imagine a name that means something as precious as an ancient familial lamentation passed down for hundreds of years only to be constantly mispronounced in a thick Aussie accent!

Here is something I find mind-boggling. How on earth can you get a name like Trbojevic correct but not put the same amount of effort into a name like Ese’ese? Somehow commentators find Trbojevic slides off their tongue correctly while Ese’ese is consistently mispronounced. What’s more is that even when they are corrected commentators still do not seem to make the effort to change their ways.

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I say this as someone who hears her own last name butchered week in week out due to having a family member playing in the NRL. It is not a nice feeling to hear my own children who share this last name yelling at the television “SAY IT PROPERLY MAN IT IS MAH-TONGUE-EE not Mat-ta-g-ee or Ma-tagee!!!” or getting the age old question of “Mum why can’t they say it properly? Is it too hard for them?”

I made a formal complaint to Fox and Seven but haven’t received a reply. That’s why I want the NRL to step in and take responsibility. They are using our players (and yes they are ours collectively – we all take ownership as is the Pacific Island way, don’t fight me on this!) for their own financial gain. This isn’t solely on the shoulders of the networks or the commentators (although a lot of it is their fault). If you are a responsible employer you ensure cultural safety and competency – and this is a cultural safety and competency issue!

I get that it’s hard to pronounce names from all over the world. I understand that education is key here. I also understand the hurt that comes from repeatedly asking governing bodies to make the effort to pronounce our names right and being told ‘its not our fault’.

Over 40 percent of NRL players today identify as having Maori or Pacific heritage. When are we going to be shown the respect we deserve, and the respect our names deserve?

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