Sporting stars have rallied behind Carlton AFLW ace Tayla Harris after disgusting comments were posted on an image of her.

Channel 7’s AFL social media department caused outrage when it removed a picture it had posted online of Harris in full flight during a game showing her athleticism.

They say they did so because of a number of a number of inappropriate and offensive comments that couldn’t be removed.

Matildas soccer star Sam Kerr was among those to bite back, saying the photo was “not the problem”.

Transgender footballer Hannah Mouncey made the image her Twitter profile picture.

Patrick Dangerfield was also among those to rally behind Harris.

Tayla Harris later tweeted the photo herself saying “Here’s a pic of me at work. Think about this before your derogatory comments, animals”.

Here’s a pic of me at work… think about this before your derogatory comments, animals. pic.twitter.com/68aBVVbTTj

— Tayla Harris (@taylaharriss) March 19, 2019

AFLW boss Nicole Livingstone told Neil Mitchell she hoped it would be a turning point.

“It probably is a moment in time where it will change the way we call this out,” she said on 3AW.

“I’m seeing a lot of it.”

@7AFL has now apologised for sending the wrong message by deleting the image.

Neil Mitchell described the reaction as “gross”.

“This is a magnificent photo,” he said.

“Goodness me, how have we come to this?”

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