Former Collingwood player Héritier Lumumba has said he has no faith in the club’s ability to tackle racism under the “current regime”.
Key points:
- Héritier Lumumba criticised Eddie McGuire’s response to Collingwood’s report into racism
- McGuire has said he deeply regrets saying the release of the report was a “proud day” for Collingwood
- Lumumba said if people did not fight for their rights, they ran “the risk of future generations inheriting the same issues”
And he labelled Collingwood president Eddie McGuire’s comments about the club’s report into racism as “shameful”.
Tonight McGuire said he deeply regretted saying it was a “proud day” for Collingwood after the release on Monday of its “Do Better Report”.
Speaking to 7.30, Lumumba said he did not believe Collingwood would change any time soon after the release of the report.
“My faith for the Collingwood Football Club, in the current regime that it has, is non-existent,” he said.
“I’ve been raising my concerns, voicing the countless experiences I have had with Collingwood, for almost eight years now.
“And I saw that there was a complete disconnect between what the club espoused to be and what the club was actually doing. When I raised these concerns with the faith that the concerns would be listened to, I was terribly wrong.
“In fact, I became the problem. I was the one who was painted as being the individual with the issues rather than the club taking ownership and accountability for what the report now reveals.”
‘We strive to do better’
The Do Better Report, commissioned by the club, found Collingwood was guilty of systemic racism and that its history of racism was “distinct and egregious”.
At a press conference about the report on Monday, McGuire said it was a “historic and proud day” for Collingwood.
“We have spent the last six years in particular in a deep dive into how we can make ourselves better, first up, and then to provide leadership and conversation in the community as only Collingwood can,” McGuire said.
“We have decided as a club that this fight against racism, against discrimination of all types, is where we want to be.
“We make mistakes, we learn, we strive to be better.”
On Tuesday, McGuire said he deeply regretted his comments and that he “got it wrong”.
He said he did not mean the club was proud of past instances of racism.
Speaking to 7.30 before McGuire aired his regrets, Lumumba said his “immediate thoughts when I heard his response to the damning report that outlines systemic racism that has plagued this club, I thought it was a shameful response”.
“I thought it was one that lacked accountability. It was just a continuation of what the report outlines, which is the Collingwood Football Club does not accept the reality of the way in which the club has created an environment that has caused serious harm to individuals.
“So I see the whole tone of yesterday’s press conference, and Eddie’s involvement in that, as being an extension of everything the report highlights.”
‘It breaks my heart’
Lumumba said he felt that fighting racism was no longer “a load, I see it as my purpose”.
“I know that if people don’t stand up and fight for their rights, then it runs the risk of future generations inheriting the same issues, the same circumstances and the same problems,” he told 7.30
“I am a father now, you know. My son’s almost two years old, I have many nieces and nephews. And it breaks my heart to know that some of my nieces and nephews are going through and have gone through some of the same challenges that I went through almost three decades ago.
“And I know that the only way that there will be changes to some of these challenges are if individuals or people have the courage, find the courage to demand justice, to demand that things change and to demand that everyone be treated equally and fairly.”
