Eddie McGuire has stood down as Collingwood president after inflaming a racism scandal at the football club.
McGuire, who had been due to step down at the end of 2021, announced his resignation on Tuesday afternoon.
“I try my best and I don’t always get it right, but I don’t stop trying,” he told reporters.
“Today, effective immediately, I step down from the presidency of the Collingwood Football Club.”
McGuire has been under fire since the release of a damning report that revealed a culture of systemic racism at the Magpies.
The long-serving president declared the release of the Do Better report, which came after it was leaked to the media, as a “proud and historic day” for Collingwood during a botched press conference.
The next day at the club’s annual general meeting, McGuire apologised for how he described the findings of the club-commissioned independent review.
Addressing the remark during his resignation, the 56-year-old referred to himself as a “lightning rod for criticism”.
“People have latched on to my opening line last week and as a result I have become a lightning rod for criticism, but I’ve placed the club in a position where it is hard to move forward with our plans,” he said.
McGuire has been at the helm of Collingwood for more than two decades, and has been one of the most influential figures in the AFL.
But his career has been marked by numerous controversies, including an infamous breakfast radio interview in 2013 where he suggested Indigenous football star Adam Goodes should promote the King Kong musical.
“From the moment I became president of the Collingwood Football Club on my 34th birthday back in 1998, my sole motivation was to heal, unite, inspire and drive a new social conscience, not just into this club, but sport and the community in general, and build an organisation that would be a place for opportunity for all people,” McGuire said during his resignation announcement.
Listing a series of programs run by Collingwood for the community, he said: “We are not a racist club, far from it.”
McGuire said he is “so proud of our club and its people”, saying their purpose “is to be a beacon of hope for all people, particularly those at their lowest ebb or who have been socially isolated and left behind”.
“When I came to Collingwood, it was a club driven with rivalries, enemies and division. It has not been the case in my time,” he said. “So I do not want any of this cause rancour or factions. It is better to fast-track my leaving of the club from the end of the year to now.
“I love Australian Rules footy. I love – it is the most egalitarian of games. No matter the size, the shape or any other sub-set of life, he or she with the Sherrin is the most important person in the world when they have got it in their hands.
“I love my memories of Victoria Park the first time. For the first time in my life I felt part of a community. I love my memories of … Victoria Park, I am going to say it again – the first time felt part of any community.
“That feeling must stay and grow for a new wave of immigrants, first nations people and all Australians who love the ethos of our game.”
McGuire’s resignation comes after more than 100 people, including politicians and Indigenous leaders, penned an open letter calling for the media personality to step down.
“As a major public institution, the club’s response to this report sets a dangerous example of how victims of racism should be treated in all facets of public life,” the open letter to Collingwood said.
“Since both Collingwood and the AFL have demonstrated that they are not capable of responding to this report and its findings in an appropriate way, we as a community have no choice but to act. We say enough.
“We believe that there are administrators, staff, fans and members of the Collingwood Football Club who truly wish to see it transcend its history.
“We believe Eddie McGuire has proven himself incapable of leading the Collingwood Football Club through any meaningful transformation. We call on him to step down immediately.”
The open letter also called on Collingwood’s major sponsors – Nike, CGU Insurance, Emirates Airlines, LaTrobe Financial and Coles – to make “clear and unequivocal statements rejecting racism”.
Greens MP Lidia Thorpe, Labor MPs Peter Khalil and Anne Aly, and former Essendon player Nathan Lovett-Murray were among those who signed the letter.
The investigation into Collingwood followed allegations of racism made by former premiership star Heritier Lumumba.
According to the findings, Collingwood’s responses to alleged incidents of racism were “at best ineffective, or at worst exacerbated the impact of the racist incidents”.
Last week, after the Do Better report was released, Mr Lumumba told NITV News his well-documented experiences of racism at the club were an indictment on broader Australia.
“I can’t help but just see that the Collingwood Football Club is really a microcosm of the greater Australian narrative,” he said.
“There’s an unpreparedness or inability or lack of desire to reconcile with its checkered, brutal past and that it has inflicted severe pain on individuals and communities and families.”
