Decorated Matildas star Kyah Simon can still remember the moment she confronted racism on the pitch as a teenager. The Anaiwan and Biripi woman was part of an Australian junior team as a 16-year-old when she overheard her teammate make an offensive joke at training.
“It was a player that I don’t play with any more – I don’t even know if they do play any more, but it was just a joke being made on the pitch in a stretching circle. They obviously were none the wiser that I was Aboriginal, and it was directly offensive to me,” Simon said.
Sydney FC and Matildas star Kyah Simon is helping to tackle racism in community sport.Credit: Getty Images for A-Leagues
“If I wasn’t the type of person that I am, and confidently spoke up and said, ‘Hey, that’s not on. That’s offensive to me,’ then that person probably would get away with it and think they’re saying a funny joke to people.”
The 33-year-old is an ambassador for a new online course developed by the Australian Sports Commission and Reflect Forward that aims to take on racism in community sport. The program will guide coaches, umpires, players, and volunteers on how to respond to racist incidents.
“It’s not a ticking the box thing, it’s a bigger picture here. If we can set a precedent at a community sport level of what’s not acceptable if you want to play this sport, and embed that into our younger generations from an early age, that sets up the clear direction that it’s [racism] not accepted in sport,” Simon said.
‘It’s not a ticking the box thing, it’s a bigger picture here.’
Kyah Simon
Since that first incident, who has scored 29 goals for Australia, has come far and is no stranger to international accolades. In 2011, she became the first Indigenous Australian to score a goal at a FIFA Women’s World Cup. But the Sydney FC forward said a lack of support made kick-starting her career a challenge.
“When I was younger I struggled even more with that because you’re trying to find your way as a young girl who’s part of several minority groups,” Simon said.
“Whether it be the fact that I’m a First Nations woman, or the fact that I’m gay, or the fact that I’m female in a male-dominated industry, there’s obviously a lot of trying to find yourself and finding who you are at that age. And then you amplify that with not having the support foundations around you to be able to excel in those areas or be able to just be sure of who you are.”
Simon at Matildas training during the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.Credit: Getty
She believes it’s time for the wider culture to shift around how Australians think about racism. She said the first step is reframing the conversation to include everyone – not just the people affected.
“I definitely would urge people to take it on as their responsibility to try and stamp this out of society. We’re only scratching the surface at a community sport level,” Simon said.
“They’ve [Australians not from diverse backgrounds] got just as much of a responsibility, if not more than people from minority groups. I think that even comes with even more weight if they’re the ones calling it out, saying, ‘Hey, that’s not acceptable, that’s offensive.’ It makes the person who said it second guess themselves when someone that may be of a similar background to them is telling them it’s not acceptable, rather than it’s a ‘them versus us’ issue.”
