Eddie McGuire stepping down last week in response to the damning Do Better report has yet again emphasised the intrinsic link between sport and society.
Sport has affected and driven social change throughout history, even if certain quarters would prefer athletes and organisations kept quiet.
The brave stance which former Collingwood player Heritier Lumumba undertook by speaking out against his the Pies in regards to the racist nicknames he was subjected to as a player sparked the report.
Lumumba has since said that before real change is made, Collingwood must take responsibility as a club for its inaction regarding claims of racism.
McGuire’s 23 years as president of Collingwood brought success on and off the field, as he helped build the Pies into the largest sporting organisation in Australia, with over 80,000 members.
This though has now been overshadowed by the report, which highlighted the concerning and damaging environment that sat behind the premiership and financial power.
McGuire’s now infamous 2013 comment, when he suggested Adam Goodes be used to promote musical King Kong, came just a week after Goodes had been racially abused by a 13-year-old Collingwood supporter.
It hinted at a club with deep-rooted issues.
Adam Goodes (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
McGuire did attempt to increase the Pies’ relationship with Australia’s First Nations people, including the implementation of the Barrawarn Program, which looks to empower Indigenous Australians through employment and educational opportunities, as well as Jodie Sizer becoming the first Indigenous woman to sit a Victorian club’s board.
However, veteran journalist Barrie Cassidy recently wrote, “I am personally sick of the awful history that the club has built for itself around racism, going all the way back to booing the Indigenous greats such as Syd Jackson, Michael Long, Robert Muir and most famously Nicky Winmar.”
The Winmar incident, wherein photographer Wayne Ludbey captured the now famous image of the Saints champion raising his guernsey and pointing to his black physique in front of the Collingwood Social Club, should have proved a catalyst for change.
This change did not occur.
Sport is a microcosm of the broader community, displaying the best and worst of society, and wielding the power to make change but also stop change in its tracks.
Sporting organisations have a responsibility to uphold and reflect societal values of equality, respect and fair play. McGuire let these values slip under his guidance and he now must accept and reflect on the shortcomings of his leadership.
Racism is an issue within all walks of life and sport has been found wanting too often when it has come to stopping racism, as was highlighted in the Do Better report.
Francis Awaritefe, a former star of the National Soccer League who himself experienced on-field racial abuse, still believes there is major resistance and self-denial about the scale of racism in Australia and that this must change before any major shifts can be made.
The stepping down of McGuire is a move in the right direction but much more must be done.
Sporting organisations and powerbrokers must be held accountable for the culture and values they create – both on and off the field.
Graeme
Guest
I have 2 younger indigenous family members who both oppose division stemming from brainwashed “chest feeding”advocates fresh out of uni with no real life knowledge of indigenous culture and knowing only what tutors indoctrinate. Many can’t think for themselves as demonstrated by the “must get a tattoo” mentality so they can join the sheep. I know things were not perfect in the past but also can see how novices who know little are dividing, not healing. Leave it to the law to punish and parents to continue teaching their kids that racism is abhorrent. Yep I was taught that and I was born in 1958. Australia is a really good place and we are all very privileged to be here. I can see what we are losing and very much fear for my children and their children.
Nat
Roar Guru
It sounds like you fear the behaviour of the few so you avoid a potential situation at all. That's very 1950s stepford wife of you. This could be a huge event and a celebration of the Indigenious culture representing the AFL and a high quality game to boot.
Graeme
Roar Rookie
No Nat the answer is play, watch and enjoy the footy, everyone on the field and at the ground behave themselves and have a good day - simples. I think there are plenty of other platforms to embrace different cultures. I reiterate racial incidents on or off field not be tolerated and be a police matter. I think you would find better outcomes all round.
Mick Gold Coast QLD
Roar Guru
"politics" I knew it, the penny has dropped. Tony Abbott is to blame, has been all along! :crying:
Nat
Roar Guru
So your answer is to pretend another culture doesn’t exist? What are the stats about Indigenious participstion in the AFL? What about aussie rules nationally? Try celebrating the differences instead of pretending they don’t exist?
Paul D
Roar Rookie
that's just whataboutism dean just because other countries are even worse than we are shouldn't be a reason why we settle for less than we could be
Bell31
Roar Rookie
Well said Paul D. I can see Dean F wants to contrast our racism with other countries, but I think the comment misses the point – Australia is a great place to live (for many of us), but it doesn’t take away from the history of underlying racism, especially with regards to the indigenous communities.
Graeme
Roar Rookie
The AFL need to stop playing politics and stop promoting racial differences for starters by not hosting Indigenous round, Multicultural round or Anglo Saxon round. Treat racial vilification as a criminal offence through the courts and then just play and enjoy watching footy.
Big Daddy
Guest
I think Collingwood have made a forward step with the resignation of their club President and formation of a 12 person committee to address the problem is good but is it too little too late. What they don't need is the former president giving advice. I purposely won't use his name as it's a reminder of his ignorance to this issue. I hope they can move forward in solving these issues within the club but it could take a while.
Dean F
Guest
Australia is one of the least r----t societies in the history of world. Australia has problems like all countries, but being this oppressive r-----t place isn't one of them. Emirates was getting upset even though its potentially a captial punishment to be of a certain inclination in the UAE.
P. tear griffin
Guest
Yup. Definitely true. This article is good, but it somewhat unfairly singles out sporting organisations. The entire apparatus needs changing. There was a good article about that midway through the last AFL season. Clubs, the central body, but most importantly the AFL media needs to urgently address is complicity in racism in Australian football. It's whiter than the sheets on the clothes line... One example is the "real footy podcast". The journos on there are some of the best in Australia (Niall, Wilson, Gleeson, Baum etc) and routinely will address key social issues impacting the game. And while they all talk the talk, they never walk it...I've never heard an indigenous voice as a guest broadcaster on that podcast - outside the token indigenous round of course.
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
This is not meant as a criticism of the article or its author BUT, similar to other articles covering this subject, there are no suggestions for what type of change is needed, just the obvious statements that change is needed so as we can combat inherent racism in the AFL. Is the change we need to implement simply 'less racism' or do we need better mechanisms to call out racism and better tools to deal with it when it occurs? I suspect it is the latter, and rather than restating well known instances of racism and racist structures, we need suggestions as to how to best start the process to fixing the issue. We need to listen closer to people like Winmar and Goodes etc when they callout racism BUT we also need to get away from calling everyone we disagree with a racist or a sexist or ... I see a lot of that creeping into comments on this site.
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
This is a sports site. Keep your politics out of the discussions!
Paul D
Roar Rookie
scomo is a deadset psychopath hiding in plain sight.
User
Roar Rookie
When a countries politics is no longer racist then change may happen but whilst we have the lnp in power and a pm who needs his wife to clarify what's right or wrong I doubt it will happen.
Paul D
Roar Rookie
Sporting clubs are a reflection of broader Australian society Australian society has deep-seated racism running through its history that it has been most unwilling to confront right up until today, therefore it's not surprising you see racism in sporting clubs in today's world that they are unwilling to acknowledge or address