1/I have been a one eyed Collingwood supporter since I was a little kid. I have barracked for the Pies since I met Peter Daicos in 1978 at a Preston fish and chips shop when I was 5. But I haven’t been so blind as to not notice racism & racist remarks that have permeated the club
2/My support for Collingwood has brought ecstatic joy (the 1990/2010 Premierships wins) lots of heartache (every other losing GF) But throughout those highs and lows my time as a supporter has also been tinged with deep discomfort at too many games when I witnessed racist abuse
3/abuse hurled by Collingwood supporters towards opposition players and the racism directed at and experienced by Collingwood players too like my hero Peter Daicos and more recently Heritier Lumumba.
Racist remarks were rife in the 80s when I used to watch footy at Vic Park.
Racist remarks were rife in the 80s when I used to watch footy at Vic Park.
4/On the occasions I ventured to it call out, I was treated like an alien, patronised, or worse had the bile re-directed at me. And of course when I played junior and amateur footy I copped the sprays regularly and directly during pretty much every game I was on the receiving end
5/ copping vile racist abuse. I was called wog and sand nigger from opponents on the field and their supporters because of my brown skin. Sometimes I also copped the usual ‘coon’ and other derogatory terms more often slung at indigenous players.
6/I wasn’t even spared the “joking” comments from teammates at times. That is why I believed Lumumba when he made his public witness. Even though I didn’t want to hear more ill of a team I love, his voice pierced the wall of denial and rang true to me.
7/I knew his courage to tell it because I understood and avoided the difficulty of discussing those experiences. Why would you put yourself through the crap he has? At the time, I guess I thought just keep my head down ignore the abuse, let it slide off a ducks back
8/in a vain hope that it wouldn’t stick. I thought my best response was to play better, kick the next goal, be better, don’t let them get to me, don’t give em anything.... My own playing days are over and all these years later I’ve realised that they don’t slide off your back,
9/it sticks, it stays with you it hurts, they leave their mark. And worse, if racism isn’t called out, acknowledged, confronted, challenged, fought and addressed it becomes an insidious part of systems and structures. Like vines along a wall. This is what structural racism means
10/Lumumba and many indigenous champions before him Michael Long and Adam Goodes had the type of courage that I didn’t. They had the courage to not only persevere and excel at the highest levels leaning into the ugly face of racism but call it out and demand something be done.
11/We should all be grateful and count ourselves fortunate they had that courage to face and feel the pain of their deep wounds again and again in order to effect change for others. Lumumba deserves our respect and thanks for his effort.
12/We should condemn the way he was mistreated and maligned by elements of the media, because that too is part of the systemic nature of racism outlined in the report. Take for example the interview that was conducted by The Project with Lumumba over his initial allegations.
13/During the interview Lumumba was trying to call out the truth. Instead of a serious engagement with his allegations, he was smashed up by a sleek and sophisticated PR effort aimed at discrediting his claims from the outset.
14/Today, unlike the 80s of my youth, you can’t so easily get away with hurling racist abuse at an indigenous player or an “ethnic” while Overt racism is not gone, it is diminished. Attitudes and understanding around race and ethnicity and privilege have progressed.
15/Thankfully pervasive, individual, direct racism does not permeate football clubs - it is legally and socially taboo for that kind of overt abuse. But the systemic nature of racism is still prevalent at Collingwood, (just watch the press conference) its still in football and
16/ And in many other institutions and it has been a constant. It hasn’t gone away despite the broader cultural acceptance of ethnic difference, and the not unimportant legal safeguards and taboos around overt racism.
17/it is just less easy to identify b/c it is just as much a part of the club as the smell of linament mixed with mud and sweat in the change rooms. That’s what we mean when we say that racism is systemic. It is spread throughout, affecting the whole
18/– so that it’s not even noticeable accept to those who are the victims of it.
The saga at Collingwood FC demonstrates how much work is necessary to address systemic racism and unconscious racist and biased attitudes. From first reading, the independent report
The saga at Collingwood FC demonstrates how much work is necessary to address systemic racism and unconscious racist and biased attitudes. From first reading, the independent report
19/commissioned by the Club looks to be an important first step towards change and accountability. So is the coming inevitable and necessary change of leadership. it still says a lot that Collingwood never intended to release the report it in the first place. That it was leaked
20/I still love the club and love footy and I always will and because I love it I am adding my voice to the many others before me trying to make it a little better by calling racism out and shining a light on the darker places. Maybe it will even help confront structural racism
21/across sports other sectors, academia, corporate sector and politics where I now work, b/c yes it exists in politics too, never on the surface of course but pervasive in other ways, not just the pathetic lack of diversity in the parliamentary ranks. That’s for another thread.
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