Heat rises on Eddie to resign
Letter takes swipe at Magpies president
AN open letter calling on Collingwood to remove Eddie McGuire as president has been circulated among community leaders, including senior Indigenous figures.
Recipients were given until 5pm today to sign the letter.
It called Collingwood’s response to the “Do Better” racism report “unacceptable and insulting” and “a dangerous example of how victims of racism should be treated”.
“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 letter says.
The letter also takes aim at the AFL’s response to the leaked report and demands Collingwood’s sponsors “make clear and unequivocal statements rejecting racism”.
“We believe that there are administrators, staff, fans and members of the Collingwood Football Club who truly wish to see it transcend history,” the letter says.
“That can only happen with a radical shift in leadership.
“A finding of systemic racism is not an excuse for powerful individuals to avoid accountability by blaming a lack of policies or procedures.
“It is an indictment of a fundamentally dysfunctional culture that develops when powerful individuals fail to act responsibly.
“Since both Collingwood and the AFL have demonstrated 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.
“Racism is dangerous. To the First Peoples of this country, racism means a long, violent and bitter history of invasion, occupation, displacement and genocide. To this day, it remains a matter of life and death. For immigrant communities of colour, it means harassment, marginalisation and trauma.
“For us, racism is not a series of gaffes or ‘mishaps’ that can simply be brushed aside.
“We stand with Heritier Lumumba and his call for Collingwood to acknowledge its failure to prevent him from being subjected to racism by his teammates, as well as the decision by senior club figures, including Eddie McGuire and Nathan Buckley, to punish and discredit him when he spoke up against racism and came forward with his experiences.
“We stand with Nicky Winmar, Michael Long, Adam Goodes, Joel Wilkinson and all those who have been subject to vilification by the club, its fans, and within the club itself. We support their right to acknowledgment, apology and compensation as recommended by the ‘Do Better’ report.
“We call on the Collingwood Football Club to appoint a person or people with significant and widely recognised credentials in truth-telling and reconciliation processes to oversee the implementation of all 18 recommendations of the CFC ‘Do Better’ report.”
Pressure has grown on McGuire since the independent review, which found there was “systemic racism” within the Collingwood club.