NFL Opens Australia Game With Woke Land Acknowledgement — Clay Travis Calls It ‘Insane’

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The NFL’s first regular-season game in Australia opened with a woke land acknowledgement before kickoff — drawing immediate backlash from conservative sports commentator Clay Travis, who called the move “insane.”

The 49ers-Rams matchup at Melbourne Cricket Ground drew over 100,000 fans Thursday for the league’s international season opener, broadcast on Netflix. But before the action started, the pregame ceremony included an indigenous land acknowledgement — a ritual that has become standard in Australian public events.

“Australia’s first ever NFL game began with a land acknowledgment. This is insane. Australia also has a national sorry day where the country apologizes to the aborigines every year. If you think the US can’t get crazier, it can.”

Travis, founder of Sport & State where the game recap was published, posted video of the acknowledgement to social media with sharp criticism.

The ritual is part of a broader cultural pattern in Australia, where the government has institutionalized annual apologies to indigenous populations. Travis noted the country observes a National Sorry Day each year — an official day of acknowledgement for past policies affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Land acknowledgements have become a flashpoint in the culture wars, with critics viewing them as performative virtue signaling that accomplishes nothing beyond making progressive institutions feel good about themselves. Supporters argue they recognize historical injustices.

The ceremony wasn’t the only odd moment in the broadcast. Netflix’s production quality drew viewer complaints, with fans reporting poor audio mixing that made it difficult to hear play-by-play announcer Noah Eagle and analyst Luke Kuechly over crowd noise.

Host Elle Duncan raised eyebrows for her outfit choice — a sleeveless suit paired with black leather gloves. The broadcast also featured 49ers players wearing kangaroo coats postgame, which some viewers found forced.

San Francisco won the game 27-7, with quarterback Brock Purdy throwing three touchdowns and 205 passing yards. Wide receiver Mike Evans caught six passes for 49 yards and a touchdown in his 49ers debut.

Netflix has four more NFL regular-season games scheduled this season as the streaming giant expands its live sports portfolio. Whether future broadcasts will feature similar cultural moments remains to be seen.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground crowd of over 100,000 fans represented one of the largest audiences for a regular-season NFL game, showcasing the league’s global ambitions — even if the pregame messaging didn’t sit well with American conservatives watching back home.

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