NFL allows stolen land acknowledgement disguised as a welcoming ceremony before Australia game

The most off-putting thing about the NFL asking two teams to fly 16 hours to the other side of the world and play a key division rivalry game in Australia the first week of the season was the league agreeing to give the performative antics of some lady named Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin a stage during its pregame ceremony.

Aunty Joy, as she is affectionately called by her followers, which include people in the Australian government, is an Indigenous Australian and Senior Wurundjeri elder of the Kulin Alliance, Victoria.

And what that title means is that she is often tasked with giving the traditional Welcome to Country greeting at many Melbourne, Australia events.

SOLD OUT MELBOURNE CROWD STANDS FOR 25TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION OF 9/11 AT NFL'S FIRST AUSTRALIA GAME Except a welcome to country greeting from Aunty Joy isn't actually a welcome.

It's a stolen land acknowledgement lecture during which she makes it clear that the land the visitors are on doesn't belong to White Australians.

It belongs to whatever Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander that first inhabited the land thousands of years ago.

It was 60,000 years ago, if you believe Aunty Joy's speech at the Melbourne Cricket Ground before Thursday's game.

THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE.

DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW! And the obvious question one might ask is why the NFL would accept this narrative being part of what was otherwise a solemn and respectful 9/11 pregame memorial featuring both Americans and Australians? Why make the Netflix audience at home, not to mention the teams standing on the sidelines waiting for kickoff, listen to this stolen land gibberish? And, let there be no doubt, it was gibberish meant to finger-wag and lecture Whitey.

During her history lesson disguised as a welcome, Aunty Joy thanked the NFL and both participating teams.

She thanked the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Chargers, um, Rams.

That's right, the stolen land acknowledgement lady initially thanked the wrong Los Angeles team that wasn't present and has actually moved in to the Rams' home market after departing San Diego.

"Kulin Nation and neighboring islands … We pay our respects to your culture and heritage and those watching at home," Wandin said.

"And we also thank the National Football League for bringing the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Char-Rams to 'Naarm to celebrate their first-ever flag session for this season." CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGE Naarm, by the way, is the Indigenous name for Melbourne.