Aboriginal artist takes legal action against TAC and JackJumpers in wake of scrapped dot art jersey
A Tasmanian Aboriginal artist is waging a race discrimination legal battle – saying he was vilified online and slurred as “Whyt Trash Reuben” – over a jersey he designed for the JackJumpers.
A Tasmanian Aboriginal artist is waging a legal battle alleging race discrimination, claiming he was vilified and harassed online over a jersey he designed for the JackJumpers Indigenous Round.
Reuben Oates has lodged a complaint with the Anti-Discrimination Commission against the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC) and eight members of the Tasmanian Aboriginal community, including key advocate Nala Mansell and the palawa man who first raised concerns over the design, Rulla Kelly-Mansell.
Mr Oates has also applied to add Tasmania Basketball Pty Ltd, the JackJumpers, to his discrimination complaint.
The jersey Mr Oates designed for the 2023/2024 Indigenous Round drew criticism at the time with allegations of cultural appropriation, as it featured dot art, which is not traditionally part of Tasmanian Aboriginal culture.
The JackJumpers scrapped the jersey and issued an apology.
In his complaint to Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, Mr Oates alleged he was publicly vilified and harassed on Facebook by the TAC and its employees or associates.
He claimed they said he was not of Tasmanian Aboriginal heritage and that they made “discriminatory and offensive” comments about his racial identity, with one labelling him “Whyt Trash Reuben”.
Mr Oates said as a result of the controversy, the JackJumpers publicly disavowed the jersey and he suffered “online abuse, financial loss, and damage to his reputation”.
He said his complaint concerns how the TAC and its employees and associates “define Aboriginality, and the vilification and harassment of those which they do not accept”.
His complaint – alleging “unlawful discrimination, prohibited conduct, incitement, and victimisation on the basis of race” – has now been referred to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which is yet to determine the matter.
In an interlocutory application, the TAC opposed the matter being heard by the tribunal, claiming that it should either be dismissed due to a jurisdiction issue, or alternatively heard by the Magistrates Court.
It argued that the tribunal was not the correct body to hear the argument given federal issues of race discrimination of Aboriginal people, and the implied freedom of political communication under the Constitution, had been raised.
However, in its interim decision, the tribunal has held that it was indeed the correct body to determine the complaint.
Tribunal senior member Samuel Thompson said Mr Oates’ complaint would now proceed to an inquiry at a date to be fixed.
He also said before the hearing could take place, he would need to next determine whether the JackJumpers could be added to the complaint.
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Originally published as Aboriginal artist takes legal action against TAC and JackJumpers in wake of scrapped dot art jersey
