- Hudson Young jokes about Tom Starling’s height
- Soccer star publishes images of a short person filmed in public
Canberra football star Hudson Young could find himself in trouble after a social media post in which he compared his teammate to a short person who appeared to have been filmed in public without his consent.
Young, who will make his State of Origin return for the NSW Blues this week, recently took to social media to take the mickey out of his friend and teammate Tom Starling.
Starling, who plays hooker for the Raiders, is one of the smallest NRL players in recent history, standing at 172cm.
The Raiders star celebrates his birthday on June 4, and Young wished him a happy birthday by posting a photo of the two on Instagram along with a message.
Canberra Raiders stars Tom Starling (left) and Hudson Young are good friends off the field.
Young then posted a video clip of a short person crossing the street with a cane and tagged Starling, writing, “Enjoy your day son @tstarling_.”
Judging by the landmarks in the background, the footage appears to have been filmed in New Zealand.
The joke is unlikely to offend Starling as the two are teammates off the football pitch, but similar posts have been condemned by Short Statured People of Australia (SSPA), which has been trying to combat people filming people of short stature and publish them on social networks without their consent.
“Being filmed without consent is an abuse of our human right to access and circulate in public spaces without having to be subjected to this type of violence, abuse and exploitation,” the SSPA wrote in a recent statement.
“All individuals have the right to participate in the community in a way that allows them the same privacy, anonymity, freedom, respect and security as anyone else.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Canberra Raiders for comment.
In May, a young soccer player with a rare medical condition that affected his growth responded to trolls who secretly photographed him and posted the photos to a Facebook group called ‘Midget Watching Australia’.
“It’s hard,” said Blake Robinson, who noted that he is not a midget and does not “speak for” people with the condition.
“I just want to go out and play football and not have my photos taken and posted in stupid groups – I shouldn’t even exist.”
Young could be involved in a conflict for publishing images of a short person who was filmed in public
“I’m just a normal 20-year-old kid who wants to go out and play the sport I love. I don’t play the game any different than anyone else.
“There are people who take pictures and think it’s funny, but to me it’s not funny and I just want people to know that it hurts.”