30 years later, racism in Australian football is still an issue

Thirty years ago, on a bright Melbourne afternoon, Aussie Rules footballer Nicky Winmar resolutely faced against a vengeful mob that was hurling drink cans, spit and racist epithets at him.

The Aboriginal man lifted his shirt, pointed at his skin, and yelled at them, “I’m black, and I’m proud to be black.”

It would be recorded in Australian sporting history that particular Saturday afternoon at Victoria Park. Many people thought it would affect change within the Australian Football League (AFL), which had been ignoring the pervasive bigotry.

But three decades later, the league has once again found itself in the eye of a racial tempest.

A few days after he, too, had been racially disparaged by a match fan and the target of a barrage of online abuse, Aboriginal player Jamarra Ugle-Hagan reenacted Mr. Winmar’s iconic gesture last month.

Four Indigenous players said they received racist comments online this week, casting a shadow over the AFL’s efforts to commemorate Mr. Winmar’s stance on the 30th anniversary of it.

This latest racist incident in the AFL’s lengthy history of racial issues raises concerns about the culture of the game.

I’ve started a project.

At Australian sporting events in 1993, racism was pervasive.

The level of hatred directed towards Mr. Winmar and his St. Kilda teammate Gilbert McAdam, however, was so severe that day that Mr. McAdam’s father had to leave the stadium in tears.

“The threats and abuse were really horrible… based on my skin colour, which was something I couldn’t change, Mr. Winmar tells the blogtweet.

It was simply hurtful, I simply wanted to play fantastic football.

He claims his behaviour was a “spontaneous” reaction brought on by frustration and wasn’t something he had in mind to go off the rails.

However, when someone asked me if I had read the paper the following day, I said, “Oh god, I’ve started something now.”

As soon as his camera’s shutter clicked, photojournalist Wayne Ludbey understood how important the moment was.

It caused a stir throughout Australia after the Melbourne newspaper’s editor battled his all-white newsroom to get the picture on the main page.

But he thinks that at the time, many people missed the underlying meaning of the situation.

According to Mr. Ludbey, Mr. Winmar feared that speaking out would endanger his career because many Australians, including his own teammates, couldn’t understand his response.

He claimed that there was no assistance, to the point that Gilbert and Nicky were warned by the club not to discuss their private issues there.

However, according to sports management expert Lionel Frost, that incident was a “turning point” for players who came from different cultural backgrounds since it gave them the confidence to speak out against racial taunts from fans and their fellow players.

The AFL introduced a player’s code of conduct forbidding racial vilification in less than two years, making it the first sport in the nation to do so.

“On the pitch, I’d be very confident in saying the game has changed because of the code of conduct, and because of what Nicky Winmar did,” Mr Frost asserts.

However, detractors assert that there hasn’t been enough alteration off the pitch, in clubhouses, viewing areas and commentary boxes.

making the game “nowhere near safe.”

Generations of players are nonetheless subjected to abuse

Modern-day legends of the game have discussed how a pattern of racism—as well as the AFL’s and the media’s response—forced them to quit playing.

In 2013, one of the AFL’s most accomplished players, Adam Goodes, called out a racial slur made by a young fan.

But in the years that followed, especially in 2014 when he was named Australian of the Year and speaking out against racism, instead of receiving support, he was ridiculed by commentators and unceasingly booed by crowds.

He added that he was “heartbroken” by the treatment. 2015 saw him take an early retirement.

AFL star Eddie Betts, who in 2016 had a banana thrown at him from the audience, has similarly acknowledged that if he hadn’t endured weekly racial abuse for the entirety of his 17-year career, he might not have decided to retire in 2021.

Not only Indigenous players are targeted in the attacks. A Muslim player of Lebanese heritage was referred to as a “terrorist” by a spectator in previous seasons, while Australian athletes of African descent have also been singled out for criticism.

According to sports historian Matthew Klugman, the AFL is still “nowhere close” to being a safe space for players from varied cultural backgrounds.

However, remarks directed at First Nations players—often with colonial overtones—are especially venomous and damaging. And they still happen often.

When the violence continues, Dr. Klugman asserts, “healing is very difficult.”

Try to find answers

The AFL is Australia’s most lucrative and popular professional competition. The organisation has frequently said that it is aiming to end racism in sports.

The most recent abuse has been referred to be “abhorrent” by Gillon McLachlan, the league’s president since 2014.

This past week, he declared, “This has to stop,” while expressing his frustration. I’m just tired of using the words I have to say.

However, it’s unclear what the league will do about offenders. The AFL has acknowledged that it has problems catching offenders, especially online.

Several people have reportedly been given match bans or had their club membership suspended.

Competitor code the National Rugby League has appeared to commit to harder action in the meantime. It has been said that police would be notified about anyone who makes racial epithets or threats against players.

But the AFL is criticised for adopting a largely tokenistic strategy. A lifetime ban for those found guilty has been demanded, and white players are being urged to take the lead in raising awareness of the issue.

“That’s enough. When will a position be taken? This week, Mr. Betts, a former top player, made a statement on Fox Sports.

The plan simply doesn’t seem to be working… Every year, it simply keeps happening, says Mr. Ludbey.

Many contend that the club level also needs to address the culture.

Two of the league’s most prosperous teams have been accused of engaging in racist behaviour just in the last two years.

A 2021 investigation on Collingwood, one of the richest clubs in the league, discovered a “systemic racism” culture there.

The racist taunts directed at Mr. Winmar on that day in 1993 and at Mr. Goodes in 2013 came from the same club.

After a former player filed a lawsuit in 2020, Collingwood was under investigation. Brazilian-born Héritier Lumumba, of Congolese-Angolan and Brazilian descent, said that after reporting racist occurrences, he was called “chimp” by his teammates and shunned.

A similar probe into another club, Hawthorn, last year uncovered allegations that senior coaching staff had harassed Aboriginal players.

The players’ accusations that they were secluded from their families, urged to break up with their relationships, and one even claims he was told to terminate a pregnancy are denied by the senior club officials involved.

The discoveries triggered broader calls for a need for a racist review into the entire sport, coming from the players’ association and even politicians.

Dr. Klugman claims that there are frequently “horrific racist spot fires.“

“Some form of independent truth telling, led by Indigenous peoples and not controlled by the league, is essential in terms of creating the possibilities of healing and justice,” he claims.

The AFL is attempting, but more needs to be done, according to Mr. Winmar. He praises Mr. Ugle-Hagan, a young athlete who is only 21 years old, for his leadership among current players.

However, he is acutely annoyed that players are still bearing the same burden decades later while knowing the cost that such lobbying exacts.