It was a year ago when Akec Makur Chuot spoke about the importance of greater cultural diversity at the Australian Open. At the time, the former AFLW player highlighted the need for more people of colour (POC), particularly in the creator industry, to not only be invited to such events, but to be professionally respected on the same level as their white counterparts.
Returning to the Australian Open in 2026, Akec has opened up about some of the progress made in the past 12 months, but also emphasised the opportunity for more change. In a post shared to her Instagram account this week, the South Sudanese star shared she was not only working with brands at the tennis event, but getting behind the mic and interviewing the likes of tennis sensation Coco Gauff.
“I asked @cocogauff what advice she has for young people navigating the sporting landscape and how they can show up in the world — the same way I would in any media press conference: with preparation, respect, and belief that I belong in the room,” Akec captioned the social media post.
“The lack of diversity in our country’s media channels is not because there isn’t talent. It’s not because there aren’t qualified, passionate, capable people ready to do the work. It’s because access is limited, networks are closed, opportunities are recycled within the same circles, and gatekeeping still quietly decides who gets seen, heard, and hired.”
Akec was the first African woman drafted into the Inaugural AFL Women’s competition in 2017, going on to play 40 AFLW games across three different clubs before finishing her career at Hawthorn. Yet, as she shared in her Instagram post, “I still haven’t been given a job in sports media” since retiring from AFLW in 2023.
She continued: “I still haven’t been given a job in sports media. But I refused to let that stop me. So I built my own lane. I showed up anyway. I put myself in uncomfortable rooms. I back myself. And I ask the questions.”
Akec said that Coco’s response to her initial question to “be authentically yourself”. Akec wrote: “She shared that she promised herself from a very young age — especially as a Black woman in a predominantly white sport — that it would be all of her or none of her. No shrinking. No editing. No dimming.
“She chose to exist fully and show up in the world to uplift the people around her and her community. That hit home. This is what happens when you don’t wait to be chosen,” she continued, adding, “you choose yourself”.
Akec emphasised that tokenism and box-ticking doesn’t qualify as authentic diversity and representation in the media industry, and that organisations must show up in meaningful ways if they’re committed to creating change.
“And for the industry: real change doesn’t come from diversity statements,” she said. “It comes from opening doors, mentoring talent, paying people fairly, hiring beyond comfort zones, and giving opportunities to those who’ve been overlooked but never underqualified.”
She reminded young people who feel “ invisible in this industy” that their “voice is needed”.
“Your perspective matters. And your seat at the table is not something to beg for… it’s something to take.”
Akec’s AO 2026 post came a year after she spoke about negative comments she received on social media after attending the tennis event. At the time, she told Missing Perspectives that she called out such behaviour so “people can be aware of trolling and racism we continue to face online”.
“Honestly that message just came from the heart as I couldn’t just sit on the sideline anymore as a person of colour with a small platform,” she told us in January 2025, adding she’s also “used to being the only one that looks like me in many rooms”.
She also spoke about the importance of levelling the playing field for culturally diverse people – particularly in terms of brand partnerships and being included at such events.
“I have been at many industry events where myself, or maybe a few other people of colour, are there,” she said. “To be honest, I am used to being the only one that looks like me in many rooms, and I have always used it as inspiration instead of dwelling on it – to network so we can get more people that look like me in the room.
“I speak about financial compensation too as I always find PR or brands say, ‘Oh we don’t have a budget for these events or launches,’ you get there and we start talking to each other, and they are paying other people and not the POC creators in attendance. This is an area we also need to address, as I have seen so many talented young people get tired and leave the industry altogether.”
Just as she told us last year that she would “continue to advocate and show up for myself and others so we can all benefit from our own hard work”, she once again ended her social media post this year with an uplifting message for anyone who’s also felt othered: “Keep knocking. Keep showing up. Keep speaking. Doors don’t open themselves — but courage opens them”.
Top photo source: Instagram/akecmakurchuot