San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams open season in Melbourne

The NFL held its first game in Melbourne, Australia, on Thursday night as the San Francisco 49ers faced the Los Angeles Rams at the MCG. The event, which was broadcast on the streamer Netflix, began with a land acknowledgement delivered by Joy Murphy Wandin. During the pre-game ceremony, Wandin offered a traditional welcome to the Kulin Nation and honored 60,000 years of local culture. The inclusion of the ceremony prompted public criticism from sports pundit Clay Travis on social media. Travis characterized the inclusion of the land acknowledgement as unnecessary and cited his disapproval of similar cultural practices within Australia. The game represents the first time the league has conducted a regular-season contest in the country.

• 2:51 AMYahoo Sports — ‘This is insane’: Analyst outraged after NFL game starts with a ‘land acknowledgement’