Casual racism typical, says ex-liaison officer

A FORMER Indigenous liaison officer who dealt with several AFL clubs and player managers says casual racism is rife in the industry.

A mentor to state league Indigenous players hoping to get drafted, he said he was often appalled by questions asked about young players.

They included whether the player had a white girlfriend, a young family, or a family “mob’’ with a history of crime and imprisonment.

The mentor, who did not want to be named, worked for a Western Australia sports management company between 2013 and 2016 and spoke to Melbourne clubs and sports managers in that time.

He has broken his silence after harrowing allegations by former Hawthorn Indigenous players were reported last week, which led to coaches Alastair Clarkson and Chris Fagan standing down pending an AFL investigation.

“This stuff has weighed heavily on me for the past eight to 10 years or so, and hearing what allegedly happened at Hawthorn, I believe there’s stuff still happening at state level and with player managers as well,” the mentor said.

His role was to help sign Indigenous players “in a culturally safe way” because around the country many “have different cultural obligations and beliefs”.

“What I discovered as a young Indigenous man myself was continuous casual racism,” he said. “One of the young Indigenous players I mentored got drafted to a club and he was told not to speak to me after I had mentored him through two years of absurd media.’’

The mentor moved to Melbourne to support the player at the request of the player’s family.

“Leading up to the draft, I was continuously asked if he had a white girlfriend because that would suit AFL clubs,’’ the mentor said.

Asked which clubs, he said: “Pretty much the whole AFL system – clubs in Melbourne.”

He said a WA club footy boss told him: “All blacks are the same … because they won’t put in the hard yards and will go walkabout.’’

He added that a player manager said the AFL system was “more equipped to deal with Indigenous people than Indigenous people dealing with Indigenous people’’.

“Because, he said, Indigenous people would bring drama,’’ he said. “That’s a massive insult because our culture is built around family.”

He said he left the industry dismayed by the environment and had “grave concerns about the whole industry’’.