Darcy Moore and his girlfriend’s cohabitation has become the talk of the AFL, with fans labelling the Collingwood captain “woke” and blaming their unorthodox relationship for his shocking drop in performance.
Moore’s girlfriend Dee Salmin, who hosts sex education show The Sunday Hook Up on Triple J, raised eyebrows earlier this week when she revealed on a podcast why they are not living together.
Many fans said Salmin’s lengthy explanation of why they live apart (complete with feminist buzzwords and therapeutic language) made them roll their eyes.
“I don’t live with my partner at the moment and we have very different, independent and busy lives,” Salmin said.
‘We can have a lot of what we had when we were still single in our relationship.
“But I wonder how long this can last when you end up living with your partner. Much of it is learned heterodynamic behavior that can be a problem.”
His statement about “heterodynamic learned behaviors” caused a stir on social media.
Collingwood supporters have had mixed reactions, with some even linking Salmin’s comments to Moore’s performance issues, prompting football analyst Kane Cornes to boldly call for him to be dropped from the VFL this week.
Others simply found Salmin’s interview confusing because of the use of progressive terminology that left them perplexed.
Darcy Moore’s girlfriend Dee Salmin revealed that she doesn’t live with him because it could perpetuate “learned heterodynamic behaviors”
Sky News Australia presenter Rita Panahi found Salmin’s reasoning about his living situation hilarious
Sky News Australia presenter Rita Panahi reposted a link to an article about Salmin’s interview, writing in the caption: “Heteronormative learned patriarchal behaviours,” alongside a series of mocking emojis.
Meanwhile, one furious fan wrote online: “No wonder Darcy Moore is playing so badly. Her head is full of progressive, politically correct, feminist rubbish.”
“Sex should be way better than spectacular to put up with that nonsense,” another added.
“This guy has to be the most intelligent footballer in history,” wrote a third.
“I’m looking forward to the ‘heteronormative scholarly patriarchal behavior round,'” one fan wrote wryly.
Some joked and speculated that Salmin’s revelation was just a way to divert attention from the Collingwood star’s worrying drop in form in 2024.
“What Darcy is really trying to say is, ‘I’m in the worst slump of my career, in a championship hangover year, so I need a little distraction,'” one fan posted.
Football fans have had a hard time absorbing Salmin’s progressive language.
One Magpies fan defended Moore, referring to former Geelong captain Joel Selwood, who wrote in his biography how he and his wife Brit slept in different rooms during the footy season.
But another replied: “Selwood did it for footballing reasons.
“Darcy Moore does it like some kind of new age trash. What the hell are heteronormative learned patriarchal behaviors?”
Others defended the couple, pointing out that the practice of the “marriage bed” was a modern innovation, not a tradition.
“It’s a good thing these two never opened a history book or they’d find out that separate beds were pretty common for married couples for about a century before 1960,” one person wrote.
Die-hard Collingwood supporters are even blaming Salmin and Moore’s “woke” lifestyle for their alarming drop in form this season.
Others suggested it could simply be a case of not getting a good night’s rest because one or both partners snore.
“I’ve been married for 25 years and my wife and I generally sleep in different rooms – we call it fucking annoying heteronormative snoring behavior,” said one.
The Magpies climbed the championship mountain last year and have been battling a tide of injuries to keep their flagship defence alive.
They will face a regenerating Hawks side who will be looking to prove they deserve to be on the big stage at the MCG on Saturday.
“If you want to try to motivate yourself more by saying it’s a final, do it,” Collinwood coach Craig McRae said.
“But we will be very motivated for round 19 and we have to give our best.
“This week it’s Hawthorn and we’re going to give them the best we can.”