SYDNEY (AP) — The Matildas joined in the heavy criticism Wednesday of a commercial radio host’s misogynistic and crass comments about Australia’s national women’s soccer team. The host has since been taken off-air.
The Matildas, coming off losses to Japan and the United States in the SheBelieves Cup, were the subject of a bizarre and offensive rant by comedian and host Marty Sheargold on his Triple M radio program.
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Japan midfielder Yui Hasegawa, left, gets control of the ball as Australia midfielder Katrina Gorry (19) falls during the SheBelieves Cup women's soccer tournament, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Australia forward Caitlin Foord, left, and Japan defender Toko Koga, right, battle for the ball during the SheBelieves Cup women's soccer tournament, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Australia defender Winonah Heatley (3) kicks the ball past United States forward Ally Sentnor (9) during the second half of a group stage match in the SheBelieves Cup women's soccer tournament, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Samantha Chow)
Australia head coach Tom Sermanni looks on before a group stage match against the United States in the SheBelieves Cup women's soccer tournament, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Samantha Chow)
Australia defender Ellie Carpenter, foreground, dribbles during the first half of a group stage match against the United States in the SheBelieves Cup women's soccer tournament, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Samantha Chow)
Among other things, he described the players as high schoolers with “all the infighting and all the friendship issues” and asked his co-hosts if they had “any men’s sports” to talk about.
“There’s something wrong with the Matildas. They had that wonderful tournament out here where we all fell in love with them, even though they didn’t make the quarters,” Sheargold said, referring to the 2023 World Cup where Australia reached the semifinals at home.
Rosie Malone, who played field hockey for Australia, posted an edited version of Sheargold's comments on social media, describing them as “disgusting” and “horrendous.”
“It’s 2025 and something like this is being aired on prime-time radio," she posted. "I heard this on the radio yesterday — on the way to training and all I could think about was the young girls sitting in the car with their parents, maybe on the way to or from their own training sessions hearing this.
“I’m sure many of them would have been hurt and confused. I was in disbelief."
Matildas players Alex Chidiac and Clare Wheeler responded to Malone’s Instagram post, with Chidiac saying she was “so sick" of such commentary and Wheeler saying “sport is for everyone and these views are for no one."
Matildas captain Steph Catley said the comments were “completely unacceptable.”
In a statement Wednesday, Football Federation Australia said: “Such remarks not only diminish the extraordinary achievements and contributions of our women’s national football team but also fail to recognize the profound impact they have had on Australian sport and society.”
“The Matildas have inspired a new generation of Australians ... who now see a future for themselves in football and sport more broadly. They have broken barriers, set new standards, and elevated the game to unprecedented heights. Their success has been instrumental in transforming women’s sport in Australia, and they deserve to be covered with the respect and professionalism they have earned."
Australia's sports minister, Anika Wells, described the comments as “boorish, boring, wrong" and soccer's national players' union said “it is important such ignorance does not go unchecked.”
The “comments were disgusting, pathetic and deeply misogynistic, showing a complete lack of respect for women’s sport and football as a whole,” Professional Footballers Australia chief executive Beau Busch said. “The Matildas have inspired countless Australians as players and fans. To diminish their achievements — or women’s sport more broadly — is not just insulting but shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the importance of our sport in this country.”
The Triple M network said the comments didn't “align with (its) views and values” and took the program off air. It said a new drive show would be announced soon. Sheargold also issued an apology.
"Any comedy, including mine, can miss the mark sometimes, and I can see why people may have taken offense at my comments regarding the Matildas. I sincerely apologize,” Sheargold said.
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Japan midfielder Yui Hasegawa, left, gets control of the ball as Australia midfielder Katrina Gorry (19) falls during the SheBelieves Cup women's soccer tournament, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Australia forward Caitlin Foord, left, and Japan defender Toko Koga, right, battle for the ball during the SheBelieves Cup women's soccer tournament, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
Australia defender Winonah Heatley (3) kicks the ball past United States forward Ally Sentnor (9) during the second half of a group stage match in the SheBelieves Cup women's soccer tournament, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Samantha Chow)
Australia head coach Tom Sermanni looks on before a group stage match against the United States in the SheBelieves Cup women's soccer tournament, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Samantha Chow)
Australia defender Ellie Carpenter, foreground, dribbles during the first half of a group stage match against the United States in the SheBelieves Cup women's soccer tournament, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Samantha Chow)
A group of Buddhist monks and their rescue dog are striding single file down country roads and highways across the South, captivating Americans nationwide and inspiring droves of locals to greet them along their route.
In their flowing saffron and ocher robes, the men are walking for peace. It's a meditative tradition more common in South Asian countries, and it's resonating now in the U.S., seemingly as a welcome respite from the conflict, trauma and politics dividing the nation.
Their journey began Oct. 26, 2025, at a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Texas, and is scheduled to end in mid-February in Washington, D.C., where they will ask Congress to recognize Buddha’s day of birth and enlightenment as a federal holiday. Beyond promoting peace, their highest priority is connecting with people along the way.
“My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we met will continue practicing mindfulness and find peace,” said the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the group’s soft-spoken leader who is making the trek barefoot. He teaches about mindfulness, forgiveness and healing at every stop.
Preferring to sleep each night in tents pitched outdoors, the monks have been surprised to see their message transcend ideologies, drawing huge crowds into churchyards, city halls and town squares across six states. Documenting their journey on social media, they — and their dog, Aloka — have racked up millions of followers online. On Saturday, thousands thronged in Columbia, South Carolina, where the monks chanted on the steps of the State House and received a proclamation from the city's mayor, Daniel Rickenmann.
At their stop Thursday in Saluda, South Carolina, Audrie Pearce joined the crowd lining Main Street. She had driven four hours from her village of Little River, and teared up as Pannakara handed her a flower.
“There’s something traumatic and heart-wrenching happening in our country every day,” said Pearce, who describes herself as spiritual, but not religious. “I looked into their eyes and I saw peace. They’re putting their bodies through such physical torture and yet they radiate peace.”
Hailing from Theravada Buddhist monasteries across the globe, the 19 monks began their 2,300 mile (3,700 kilometer) trek at the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth.
Their journey has not been without peril. On Nov. 19, as the monks were walking along U.S. Highway 90 near Dayton, Texas, their escort vehicle was hit by a distracted truck driver, injuring two monks. One of them lost his leg, reducing the group to 18.
This is Pannakara's first trek in the U.S., but he's walked across several South Asian countries, including a 112-day journey across India in 2022 where he first encountered Aloka, an Indian Pariah dog whose name means divine light in Sanskrit.
Then a stray, the dog followed him and other monks from Kolkata in eastern India all the way to the Nepal border. At one point, he fell critically ill and Pannakara scooped him up in his arms and cared for him until he recovered. Now, Aloka inspires him to keep going when he feels like giving up.
“I named him light because I want him to find the light of wisdom,” Pannakara said.
The monk's feet are now heavily bandaged because he's stepped on rocks, nails and glass along the way. His practice of mindfulness keeps him joyful despite the pain from these injuries, he said.
Still, traversing the southeast United States has presented unique challenges, and pounding pavement day after day has been brutal.
“In India, we can do shortcuts through paddy fields and farms, but we can’t do that here because there are a lot of private properties,” Pannakara said. “But what’s made it beautiful is how people have welcomed and hosted us in spite of not knowing who we are and what we believe.”
In Opelika, Alabama, the Rev. Patrick Hitchman-Craig hosted the monks on Christmas night at his United Methodist congregation.
He expected to see a small crowd, but about 1,000 people showed up, creating the feel of a block party. The monks seemed like the Magi, he said, appearing on Christ’s birthday.
“Anyone who is working for peace in the world in a way that is public and sacrificial is standing close to the heart of Jesus, whether or not they share our tradition,” said Hitchman-Craig. “I was blown away by the number of people and the diversity of who showed up.”
After their night on the church lawn, the monks arrived the next afternoon at the Collins Farm in Cusseta, Alabama. Judy Collins Allen, whose father and brother run the farm, said about 200 people came to meet the monks — the biggest gathering she’s ever witnessed there.
“There was a calm, warmth and sense of community among people who had not met each other before and that was so special,” she said.
Long Si Dong, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth temple, said the monks, when they arrive in Washington, plan to seek recognition of Vesak, the day which marks the birth and enlightenment of the Buddha, as a national holiday.
“Doing so would acknowledge Vesak as a day of reflection, compassion and unity for all people regardless of faith,” he said.
But Pannakara emphasized that their main goal is to help people achieve peace in their lives. The trek is also a separate endeavor from a $200 million campaign to build towering monuments on the temple’s 14-acre property to house the Buddha’s teachings engraved in stone, according to Dong.
The monks practice and teach Vipassana meditation, an ancient Indian technique taught by the Buddha himself as core for attaining enlightenment. It focuses on the mind-body connection — observing breath and physical sensations to understand reality, impermanence and suffering. Some of the monks, including Pannakara, walk barefoot to feel the ground directly and be present in the moment.
Pannakara has told the gathered crowds that they don't aim to convert people to Buddhism.
Brooke Schedneck, professor of religion at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, said the tradition of a peace walk in Theravada Buddhism began in the 1990s when the Venerable Maha Ghosananda, a Cambodian monk, led marches across war-torn areas riddled with landmines to foster national healing after civil war and genocide in his country.
“These walks really inspire people and inspire faith,” Schedneck said. “The core intention is to have others watch and be inspired, not so much through words, but through how they are willing to make this sacrifice by walking and being visible.”
On Thursday, Becki Gable drove nearly 400 miles (about 640 kilometers) from Cullman, Alabama, to catch up with them in Saluda. Raised Methodist, Gable said she wanted some release from the pain of losing her daughter and parents.
“I just felt in my heart that this would help me have peace,” she said. “Maybe I could move a little bit forward in my life.”
Gable says she has already taken one of Pannakara’s teachings to heart. She’s promised herself that each morning, as soon as she awakes, she’d take a piece of paper and write five words on it, just as the monk prescribed.
“Today is my peaceful day.”
Freelance photojournalist Allison Joyce contributed to this report.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," get lunch Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Aloka rests with Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
A sign is seen greeting the Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Supporters pray with Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Supporters watch Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
A Buddhist monk ties a prayer bracelet around the wrist of Josey Lee, 2-months-old, during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Bhikkhu Pannakara, a spiritual leader, speaks to supporters during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Buddhist monks participate in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Buddhist monks participate in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Bhikkhu Pannakara leads other buddhist monks in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Audrie Pearce greets Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Bhikkhu Pannakara, a spiritual leader, speaks to supporters during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," arrive in Saluda, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," are seen with their dog, Aloka, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
