A lot can change in eight days. Just ask Eddie McGuire.
As the curtain was drawn on his 22-year presidency at the Collingwood Football Club, McGuire was still tap-dancing through an imaginary encore, belting out his long list of achievements to an audience that had mostly tuned out.
On Monday last week he declared he was the man who would lead Collingwood through the challenging prospect of ridding itself of the club’s systemic culture of racism detailed in the leaked ‘Do Better’ review.
On Tuesday this week he resigned, effective immediately, with a 20-minute monologue exposing his inability to understand why he had to go, declaring ‘we are not a racist club’.
So what changed his mind?
McGuire was pushed onto the stage by a tsunami of pressure from within and without.
Thousands of signatures collected by fans, sponsors not comfortable with being called out for their association with the club and a board divided between its stated commitment to systemic change and loyalty to its larger-than-life president — all played their part in pushing McGuire to his resignation.
The noise around his handling of the review, describing it as a ‘proud day’ for the club, did not recede.
Neither McGuire, nor his supporters — Victorian Premier Dan Andrews, and AFL boss Gillon McLachlan — judged the mood correctly.
Racism is no longer recognised as a ‘sorry about that, let’s all move on’ scenario.
It runs much deeper. It is recognised for the life-long scars it leaves, the careers it ruins, and unjust nature of the consequences resting on the shoulders of the victims, not the perpetrators.
The national mood had shifted and many in the Collingwood setup recognised it but felt powerless to effect the change needed.
The review stated it plainly:
“All of this comes back to the leadership of the Collingwood Football Club — particularly its Board — and the need for it to set the vision and values of the Club and to drive structural change within the organisation.”
As the pressure around Collingwood intensified, one of the most significant moments came when all 150 of Collingwood’s footballers and netballers signed an open letter of apology.
They said ‘sorry’ to all who had been harmed by racism inflicted under the Collingwood banner.
An apology the president himself failed to give to those who suffered.
During his resignation yesterday, though, he did offer this: “We are apologetic, we are humble and we are also galvanised to dismantle any structures of systemic racism”.
It was the players who stood up when leadership was called for in what became a turbulent, toxic week, that was showing no signs of abating.
A generational divide was on display.
If the pressure did not find a release valve the implications threatened to tear the Collingwood “fraternity” apart.
Collingwood’s Integrity Committee, spearheaded by board members Peter Murphy and Jodie Sizer, along with chief executive Mark Anderson, laid the initial foundations for change by pushing for the racism review last June, seeking ‘the truth’ around the club environment exposed by former player Héritier Lumumba and his own damaging experiences.
If McGuire refused to go, with so many publicly and privately suggesting he was not capable of the final mission he’d declared himself suitable for, it is easy to imagine some on the board would have decided their own positions were untenable.
McGuire’s departure has prevented that eventuality.
The lens of scrutiny will be watching closely as Collingwood searches for its new president and begins its cultural realignment, but the frame has also widened.
The ‘Do Better’ review noted Collingwood is not the only AFL club with a racism problem.
While the focus this past week has been on McGuire, with him gone it may turn to others — such as the AFL chief executive, Gillon McLachlan, and the chair of the AFL Commission, Richard Goyder, and the roles of their respective organisations.
Remarkably, perhaps McGuire’s resignation will be remembered as one of his greatest legacies — allowing the club he loves to become what it has committed to.
When former Sydney Swans player Adam Goodes called out a 13-year-old Collingwood supporter for calling him an ape back in 2013, there was outrage.
Not because of the racism, but because he chose to highlight it.
Today, it is the racism that is being highlighted and the consequences now are for the perpetrators and those who failed to call them out.
Shift made in dealing with divisive issue
As the symbolic head of a club whose own report found it was littered with racist abuse, Eddie McGuire’s resignation is a profound moment for Collingwood, and for the wider community.
Time has been called on an issue that has divided many for too long.
Racism didn’t end on Tuesday, but a significant shift was made in addressing it.
The Collingwood experience is a lesson for all.
Many have suggested Eddie McGuire was forced to resign because of his many gaffes.
No. Eddie McGuire resigned because the club he presided over for 22 years has a racism problem.
