Racism claims in Australian Rules Football

An investigation by the Australian Football League (AFL) has begun against one of its’ most successful teams, following worrying allegations of racist treatment towards Indigenous players at the club.

Photo: BBC News.

By: Sam Feierabend.

The AFL have described the claims as “extremely serious”, levelled at the team Hawthorn who are 13-times champions of the ‘Aussie Rules’ national league. The report has cited that club staff had separated players from their families, with one player even claiming that coaches urged him to have his partner’s pregnancy aborted.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) undertook an independent review, commissioned by Hawthorn themselves, and spoke to players (who were not named) about their experiences playing for the club. One player claimed that former head coach Alastair Clarkson and his assistant Chris Fagan told him to ‘kill his unborn kid’. Then he was allegedly told to remove his SIM card so there was no further contact between him and his family.

The player said that he had made multiple suicide attempts since leaving the club, and the club had broken him as a man and a player.

In light of the allegations, Clarkson’s new club, North Melbourne, have delayed the start of his contract with the club. Fagan on the other hand has agreed to step down from his club, the Brisbane Lions, to co-operate with the investigation.

The club itself initially opened the review after the retirement of multiple Indigenous players. Many of them claimed that their decision was based off of inappropriate racial comments made by the Club President to one of the player’s wives. The President denies that he nor the club are racist.

Indigenous people in Australia have long been subject to racial profiling and abuse. These recent allegations show that this has not changed, and is still prevalent at professional levels, even in sport.