It is not unusual to see headlines involving professional athletes. Even once an athlete retires, it's not uncommon to continue to see their name come up in the news.
However, this situation might have you scratching your head. Or at least questioning some things.
Former professional rugby player Dane Swan is being mocked on Twitter for mistaking incontinence pads and absorbent incontinence underwear—which address issues with bladder control—for men's tampons which some men do buy for their own or someone else's use.
The 38 year-old former pro rugby player in the Australian Football League (AFL) posted his sexist, transphobic rant on Twitter.
"It’s been some day folks cause today is the day i learnt that men can buy tampons. I’ve now officially seen it all.”
The attempt at criticizing trans people failed when people took to the comments to point out not only was the remark incredibly rude and uncalled for, but also incredibly stupid.
The photo he included with his post showed a shelf full of incontinence pads and absorbent underwear for men, products cisgender men use to stop from soiling themselves.
These products can be used by men who are older, or who have medical conditions that cause incontinence.
In his tweet, he tagged Ralph Horowitz, the co-host of his podcast Swanny and Friends. It is likely they will be discussing this topic in a future podcast episode.
People took to the comments to inform Swan of what was actually in the photo he included in his post and what they were used for.
Others hopped into the comments simply to make fun of the former pro athlete.
Others jumped into the comments to give Swan some educational information on tampons.
Tampon companies have begun to acknowledge those that use their products include trans men among other menstruating people.
In 2019, the tampon brand Always removed the female symbol from its packaging in order to be more inclusive. Similarly, Tampax has started using they/them pronouns in social media posts.
While it is amazing tampon companies are beginning to change their mindset, it is clear from tweets like these there still needs to be a lot more education given to the masses on not only what a tampon is and what its used for but on tansgender people in general.
Liam McBurney/PA Images via Getty Images
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