Collingwood board member Jodie Sizer has taken aim at the AFL Commission for its unwillingness to lead the competition in addressing racism as former Magpies star Leon Davis said genuine change was occurring at the club as a result of the Do Better report.
Collingwood, which commissioned the report in 2020, have now implemented their 18 recommendations as they strive to eliminate racism from the club in an ongoing process that both Sizer, a Djab Wurrung and Gunditjimara woman, and Davis, a Balardong Whadjuk man, admit is tough.
Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire and Indigenous board member Jodie Sizer addressed the media in 2021 over the Do Better report.Credit:Joe Armao
As a result of the Do Better report, the Magpies have engaged in truth-telling, set up a whistleblower process, established a Do Better working group, developed a framework for responding to racism and committed to sharing their work to support the concepts of anti-racism and inclusion throughout the code.
The AFL has indicated it plans to undertake a review once the investigation into allegations contained in Hawthorn’s cultural safety review has been completed. Sizer said undertaking a review should be a matter of urgency.
A recent AFLPA report surveyed 92 players who identified as Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander or as a person of colour and “almost a third reported having experienced racism while listed as an AFL player. Of those, only 17 per cent felt that these were dealt with entirely to their satisfaction”. There have been a series of high-profile racist incidents within the AFL in the past decade.
“If they need to contemplate their priorities, it is time to address this,” Sizer said. “If Eddie Betts and Adam Goodes and Leon Davis’ experiences are not enough to start acting then they need to look at their responsibilities as a regulator across the code. It requires leadership and vision.”
Collingwood president Jeff Browne agreed an industry-wide review into racism within the game is “long overdue” as he expressed gratitude to those who had participated in the truth-telling process at the Magpies.
Browne, who became president 12 months ago, described the work as personally transformative as he understood now how to properly listen to the experiences of people at the club.
“[It’s about] understanding what the people telling the stories have been through and how it affected them personally,” Browne said. “My view about that is pretty much irrelevant. I’ve really got to tune into the effect that it had on the people that suffered. It was a very emotional and educative process for me.
“I’ve developed as a person this year at Collingwood, for being involved in that and developed a much better, more informed understanding of the need to eliminate racism.”
Browne travelled to Heywood in country Victoria to meet Davis, an All-Australian who played 225 games for Collingwood, to understand what he endured in his time at the club.
Collingwood president Jeff Browne said the truth-telling process was transformative.
“What I’ve learnt about truth-telling, or through that process, is that just don’t focus on the intent. The intent of what the person said or did, focus on the effect it had on the recipient and then work back from that,” Browne said.
Davis and former teammate, Mineng/Inggarda man Andrew Krakouer, were eventually employed in cultural development roles as the number of First Nations people at the club grew to 11.
Davis said those at Collingwood were embracing the opportunity to learn and understand the diverse set of experiences carried by people at the club, with trust slowly increasing.
“You can make mistakes. As long as your heart is in the right spot and you are willing to make that change and make it better than what it was, then you are in the right space and I think there are a lot of those people at the footy club,” Davis said.
Andrew Krakoeur and Leon Davis during their time at Collingwood.Credit:Sebastian Constanzo
“There has been a change at the football club. It’s good to be back, but the work is not done. There is definitely a shift at the club and we look forward to sitting in those uncomfortable conversations and uncomfortable situations where you make a change. It’s not easy for anyone.”
Davis said premiership Magpie Heritier Lumumba’s courage to speak up was the reason he found the voice to talk about his own experiences, and his parents, family and community provided him with the purpose he needed to keep going.
He said the door was always open for Lumumba’s return and he hoped Lumumba would one day feel the club was a safe space for him to return. But Davis respected and understood why his former teammate had not reached that point yet.
Browne reiterated that Lumumba was welcome and that all he could promise was that the club’s ability to listen had improved.
He said the game needed to build trust that had been lost, with Collingwood only a small part of the way down that track.
“You can’t just land in a program from the top. It’s really bottom up. It’s long overdue in the AFL and I’m pleased to see that the AFL have announced that they’re going to do this and so they should,” Browne said.
“Everyone who walks in to this club today will sense a different Collingwood, a better Collingwood. As I reflect back on the year, that’s probably our best achievement.”
Davis keeps emphasising there is still work to be done and he is committed to helping those at the club do that work.
“I am passionate about creating change at the Collingwood Football Club because I know what the club meant and means to me. I spent my career there and I love the club,” Davis said.
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