Ex-Sun claims ‘dark works’

Wilkinson accuses AFL of extreme racism

JOEL Wilkinson has accused the AFL of systematic racism and claims the league’s response to his complaint has been an insult.

Lawyers for the former Gold Coast player will lodge legal papers at the Australian Human Rights Commission on Monday morning and the case could end up in the Federal Court.

A day after Wilkinson’s un- precedented legal action was made public, he read from a prepared statement and referred to what he called the “dark works” inside the AFL.

AFL football operations manager Steve Hocking again apologised to Wilkinson on behalf of the league, but said there were processes that the former player could work through.

Wilkinson’s lawyer, Will Barsby, said that two other for- mer AFL players had made contact in the wake of the accusations.

“I am here to hold the AFL accountable and stand against injustice ... this is extremely systematic across the AFL,” said Wilkinson, who alleges his career was taken from him and his rights were violated due to racism, religious vilification and racially motivated sexual harassment over many years. He was now looking forward to his day in court.

“It won’t be happening behind closed doors anymore,” Wilkinson said.

“It seems in recent times the dark works on the inside of the AFL are being revealed and I hope this gives others the courage to come forward.”

The AFL released a statement on Wednesday saying Wilkinson previously had shared his experiences of racial abuse in videos produced with the league. “It is disrespectful to the gravity of the situation to continually deny my experiences and claim one threeminute video was sufficient,” responded Wilkinson.

“It is an insult that is so out of place in the global climate of racism and in the modern workplace.”

Mr Barsby said it was unclear whether the other former players who had made contact also wanted to take legal action.

“It’s really about whether those individuals want to pursue their legal rights, as Mr Wilkinson has,” he said.

Mr Barsby also claimed that Wilkinson lost his place at the Suns because he became too much trouble.

“He was labelled as a grandstander ... like any workplace, sometimes an employer doesn’t want to keep that perceived problem child around.” Mr Barsby said. “Joel was very advocating on behalf of his and others’ rights and he’s been persecuted because of that.”