Australian sporting icon Anthony Mundine has weighed in on the Netball Australia sponsorship crisis.
The sporting organisation has been left on the brink of a financial crisis after Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting withdrew from its $15 million sponsorship deal.
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The response followed revelations that Diamonds players had concerns about wearing a team uniform that included sponsorship branding from Hancock Prospecting.
The issue came to a head when Indigenous player Donnell Wallam, who is in line to make her Diamonds debut in the upcoming series against England, was said to be uncomfortable wearing a uniform with the logo due to comments made by Rinehart’s father Lang Hancock in the 1980s. He infamously suggested in 1984 Indigenous Australians should be sterilised to “breed themselves out” in coming years.
In the face of intense pressure, Wallam decided on Friday she would wear the logo on her uniform for her international debut. On Saturday, however, the deal was pulled from the table.
Wallam has reportedly been left ‘distressed’ and ‘devastated’ by the bombshell decision.
Now Mundine has come to her defence and turned the blowtorch on the mining magnate for not distancing herself from her father’s comments.
“Anyone that thinks like him, speaks like him, believes what he believes, is detrimental to humankind,” Mundine said to the Herald Sun.
“Donnell should stay strong and stay staunch in her beliefs.
“She (Gina Rinehart) could have apologised for her father’s comments, distanced herself from them and told us that she doesn’t believe those things. Instead, she pulled her money out.”
Mundine said there are a lot of people standing behind Wallam and urged her teammates to stick by her side, believing they will try change the narrative and divide the group.
“All the netballers, they need to be staunch and stick behind Donnell, because they’re going to try to turn them against her.
“I just hope that Donnell knows that there are a lot more people behind her than what she may think. She has taken a strong stand, an important stand, and that shows the courage of her convictions.”
Despite being disgusted by the comments made by the late Lang Hancock, Mundine hopes God has forgiven him and blessed his soul.
Gina Rinehart has never made any public comments on her late father’s views.
Many have been quick to defend Rinehart’s decision to pull the money off the table, from popular radio host Andrew “Cosi” Costello to politician Jacinta Price who slammed the athletes for being “selfish”.
Price said the sporting organisation needed to “grow a spine” and stand up against the “selfish” athletes in a lengthy Facebook post.
“You make your bed, you lie in it. Unless you’ve got a cool few million in your back pocket to support your sporting code, your woke sense of self importance should be your private opinion and your private opinion only,” she wrote.
“Sporting codes, corporates and society in general need to grow a spine and stop pandering to self righteous individuals on the basis saying ‘No’ to their selfish demands just might attract accusations of racism or bigotry.
“Wake up Australia! Stop acting like brainless sheeple and get on with the job, whatever job that may be. Stop creating a rod for your backs and the backs of others especially our children. Stop empowering bullies and demonstrate what it means to be a real person. Clearly self flagellation isn’t working.”
Rinehart has not commented on the sponsorship issue personally but her company said in a statement: “Hancock and its executive chairman Mrs Rinehart consider that it is unnecessary for sports organisations to be used as the vehicle for social or political causes.”
