former australian netball captain liz ellis has championed a controversial netball ad after critics claim it draws uncomfortable parallels to a domestic violence ad the fox sports ad, which is promoting the upcoming anz netball championships, depicts diamonds star sharni layton with a badly blackened eye an injury ms ellis claims she earned 'giving her all' in training earlier that week ‘i love the ad,’ ms ellis told daily mail australia scroll down for video  standing tall: sharni layton didn't want to use make up to cover the black eye she sustained in a training session  liz ellis penned a though provoking article hitting back at critics of the ad saying it shows what netballers are capable of  ‘it’s great because it shows what netballers are capable of and it doesn’t shy away from the fact that they are physical,’ she added ms ellis penned a column for the age defending the controversial ad after critics claimed ms layton’s bruised and bloodshot left eye was distasteful she hit back saying more people need to recognise that these highly trained athletes are not only capable of putting their body on the line, but they love it ‘i think people don’t want to emphasise the fact that it is a physical game and women can go hard’ australian tv journalist sam squires claims the ad could have conveyed the message that womens sport is tough without such a 'confronting image’ sam squires likened the sports injury to one sustained at the hands of an abuser  liz ellis is adamant that women play with a level of physicality that can sometimes lead to injuries  ‘it screams violence not toughness,’ she said in an article on her website respectfully disagreeing, ms ellis said it would be a mistake to see elite female athletes, playing with the ferocity that men would, and assume it's an act of violence 'the game isn’t violent, the players don’t go out there to inflict pain, there is no malice netball is a tough game and that’s what it portrays' 'i don’t think this conversation would have happened if it were a blokes sport,' she added twitter users expressed their support by backing ms ellis' claims that women and girls can be tough on court star player sharni layton sustained the controversial eye injury in a training session and was offered to cover it up with make up before shooting the ad she declined as she saw no reason to cover up the realities of the game ms ellis says people don't want to emphasise the level of physicality involved in netball  ms ellis said she was elated to see a role model for young girls who can say 'look at what i can do, not at how i look' 'this is so vital because of the way society is little girls from a young age are reinforced that it’s all about how you look,' she told daily mail australia 'what sport does is that it flips it from what your body looks like to what your body can actually do how high can you jump? how fast can you run? how far can you throw?' ms ellis wants young girls to focus less on what they look like on court and more on what their body can actually do  the ad highlights the athletes physical prowess but has been heavily criticised  while ms ellis is adamant this particular ad doesn't trivialise domestic violence, she said can see why people would assume 'that when a woman is bruised she is a victim' ms ellis said the notion of domestic violence is becoming 'all pervasive' due to the unfortunate fact that it is far more likely for a woman to suffer injuries at the hand of a partner than on a netball court ‘we can’t ask people to change that perception until women aren’t victims and that’s where we have to start,’ she added the #likeagirl campaign, which the ad is loosely based off, took off in june last year after releasing a video which challenges the perception of what the phrase 'like a girl' means
anz netball championship sharni layton ms layton liz ellis ms ellis
ad for anz netball championship shows star sharni layton with black eye . ms layton sustained the injury playing netball and didn't want to cover it . critics likened the ad to domestic violence campaigns . netball great liz ellis hit back saying it shows the reality of the game . 'netball is a tough game and that’s what it portrays,' says ms ellis 