I don’t want to hear anyone tut-tutting about his on-field reaction to the taunts.
It’s what was expected. It’s what his opponents wanted. Many searched for it, thinking his reaction would hurt his team or make him a less damaging player.
Rioli jnr only went too far in most people’s view – including mine – when he took his reaction off the field.
But what had already gone too far was what Rioli jnr had been copping, both while playing, and on social media for years.
Port coach Ken Hinkley (right) has backed Willie Rioli without condoning behaviour which oversteps the mark Credit: AFL Photos
Some taunts might be considered benign by many, but after the context provided by Port Adelaide football boss Chris Davis about the off-field racism Rioli jnr has experienced in the past, they should now know these sledges are culturally insensitive if not racist.
I would like to think I played tough and gave us much as I received on the football field, but I can understand as an Indigenous man why Rioli jnr would have reacted with anger to the phrases I have heard have been directed at him over the years.
Talking about an Aboriginal person’s diet or what their mates might be up to, or whether his body looks professional is offensive, and even more so when they are deliberately flung to get a reaction.
By the same token, I understand from experience that opponents niggle all the time and different players have different modes of operation when playing to get themselves in a state for high performance and to beat the opposition. So I am judging those taunting with empathy too.
But now that they know how loaded such comments can be, any player who “goes there” as Ken Hinkley put it, deserves to be judged in the same way as Rioli jnr was, eventually, last week.
I would like to think if it has been spelt out to me that what I am saying to an opponent is affecting him not just as a player but as a person, I would stop. I expect that, now that they know the impact their words and taunts are having on Rioli jnr, any decent player in the AFL would also give the jibes a rest.
That doesn’t mean there is a list of words you can and can’t say posted on the wall, so players can stay on the right side of “the line”. The expectation is that you just be a decent person and peer, and don’t be cruel to someone who is vulnerable.
The added component for many Indigenous players is social media, which cowards use to anonymously abuse and racially vilify. Many of us were worried about Rioli jnr last week because excelling on the football field should be something that brings him relief.
Neither Rioli jnr, nor his club, have thrown any of his opponents under the bus by publicly revealing what has been said to him.
He has provided an explanation for his behaviour, which will help those working with him to make him better. He’s not perfect, but he is not the bad guy in this scenario.
Rioli jnr is likely to return against my old club, Geelong, this weekend in front of his own team’s supporters at Adelaide Oval.
I believe the Cats players will play hard but fair with Rioli, confining the contest to parameters that allow everyone to compete. Every other club should do the same.
I also hope supporters treat Rioli jnr with respect. I’ll be honest, I am a little scared about the potential reaction from the stands. But I am also confident that the AFL hierarchy, from the commission to the executive, are more prepared to deal with crowd behaviour than they were when Swans champion Adam Goodes was booed in 2015, which became a shameful episode in this game’s history. I am also confident in the majority of supporters.
The Goodes and Rioli jnr situations are different, but in both cases people with racist intent have used booing or the anonymity of social media to break them down, not just as footballers but as people. Knowing that can happen to my peers breaks my heart.
I continue to believe that 99 per cent of the people who love our game are great,and we can’t lose sight of that.
At a dinner I attended in Darwin on Monday night, involving members of the AFL Commission and the executive team, a few former Indigenous players had the chance to explain what the game has done for our generation, and that many of us are inspired by members of the previous generation such as Michael McLean and Chris Lewis.
Hopefully, Willie Rioli jnr knows he is not alone.
We don’t condone what he did, and we want his behaviour to improve, but we have some level of understanding about what drove him to do what he did.
We are with him. All football fans who enjoy his talent can be with him too. It’s your choice.
Mathew Stokes is a Larrakia man who played 200 games with Geelong and Essendon. He played in Geelong’s 2007 and 2011 premiership teams.
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