A damning independent report has found evidence of “systemic racism” within the Collingwood AFL club months after 2010 premiership player Heritier Lumumba said he had been subject to racist abuse while playing.
The 35-page report found a culture of racism in the club has “resulted in profound and enduring harm to First Nations and African players”.
It was tabled with the club’s board in December, days after president Eddie McGuire announced he would step down at the end of 2021.
The report was publicly released on Monday.
“There is a gap between what Collingwood Football Club says it stands for and what it does,” the report read.
“While claims of racism have been made across the AFL, there is something distinct and egregious about Collingwood’s history.”
The report was conducted by Professor Larissa Behrendt, who is a Eualeyai/Kamilaroi woman, and Professor Lindon Coombes from the University of Technology in Sydney.
The authors found Collingwood had become “synonymous with off-field and on-field racism in Australian sport” and criticised the club’s leadership for it’s “guns pointing out” approach to dealing with complaints.
“This has also meant that Collingwood’s response has often been perceived as one where claims of racism are dealt with in terms of damage control and protecting the brand, rather than seeking to address issues and make change,” it read.
It also found there was an absence of internal avenues for reporting racism in the club until very recently.
“All of this comes back to the leadership of the Collingwood Football Club – particularly its board – and the need for them to set the vision and values of the club and to drive structural change within the organisation,” the report
read.
But the review also found there was an acknowledgement of past failures and desire to do better by the club’s leadership.
Positive steps already taken by Collingwood include the introduction of policies that directly target racism and the appointment of a new CEO who is committed to making changes.
The report made 18 recommendations, including urging Collingwood to ensure accountability and consequences for acts of racism within the club and to develop a strategy to address and reconcile past acts of racism.
It was commissioned by Collingwood’s board last year after a series of allegations made by Lumumba, a former player.
Following the Black Lives Matter protests in June last year, Lumumba spoke publicly about experiencing racism within the club, including allegations he was given the nickname “chimp”.
“You use the ‘Black Lives Matter’ hashtag, now you’ve entered the discussion. Let’s talk about black lives. And let’s talk about how it was clear that my black life didn’t matter to you at the time that I was at the club,” he said last year.
He has since sued his former club and the AFL for failing to provide a “safe working environment free of racial abuse”.
His allegations were not investigated as part of the ‘Do Better’ report after he opted out of the process.
“It is not appropriate to review those allegations without Mr Lumumba’s involvement,” the report said.
“Nothing in this review can be taken as exonerating the Club from any alleged wrongdoing.”
Collingwood has been contacted for comment.
With AAP.
