Heritier Lumumba slams Collingwood culture in controversial new documentary

NATHAN Buckley has described Heritier Lumumba’s scathing criticism of Collingwood as “sad” and said he had always looked out for the former player.

Nathan Buckley and Heritier Lumumba — then O’Brien — after a win in 2013. Picture: Getty Images

NATHAN Buckley has described Heritier Lumumba’s scathing criticism of Collingwood as “sad” and said he had always looked out for the former player.

In a documentary on Lumumba titled Fair Game Lumumba describes Collingwood as a “boys’ club for racist and sexist jokes” and accuses Buckley of lacking “emotional intelligence”.

The Pies’ 2010 premiership player also said his stand against president Eddie McGuire’s 2013 racist radio joke towards Adam Goodes ultimately led to his departure from the club.

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Nathan Buckley and Heritier Lumumba — then O’Brien — after a win in 2013. Picture: Getty Images

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“It’s a bit sad in many ways that ‘H’ feels that way about his experiences in the game and he’s been a great contributor to our footy club for a decade and 199 games and I shared those times with him as a player and then as a coach,” Buckley said after the Pies 11-point loss to Geelong today.

“I’d echo the sentiments of the club and hope that he’s doing well and that he can still see the positives of his experience as an AFL footballer.”

Buckley laughed off Lumumba’s claim that he lacked emotional intelligence.

“He wouldn’t be the first bloke to think that,” he said.

“Personally, I’ve always looked out for, and been aware of, H’s issues or concerns or challenges.

“I tried to support him as best I could in my role as teammate, captain and then as line coach and senior coach.

“There’s a bit more that goes on than just the one anecdote in one moment.”

Asked if Lumumba’s claim that he was nicknamed “chimp” for years was true, Buckley said: “I didn’t hear it. I didn’t hear it.”

“This has the capacity to get bigger than it needs to be, but I’m conscious of H and where he’s at at the moment and I hope he’s doing well,” Buckley said.

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Lumumba’s often controversial career ended at Melbourne earlier this year when he retired as a result of repeated concussions.

His time at Collingwood featured 199 games from 2005-14 when he rose from the rookie list to become a premiership player.

It also included a number of flashpoints including challenging what he viewed as a homophobic poster in the players’ rooms, taking a mid-season break in 2013 and returning to tell reporters about his “complicated history” of abuse and witnessing a murder in Brazil, and publicly taking aim at McGuire after his controversial remarks about Adam Goodes and the King Kong musical.

Lumumba tweeted in 2013: “I’m extremely disappointed with Eddie’s comments and do not care what position he holds, I disagree with what came out his mouth this morning on radio.”

Nathan Buckley and Heritier Lumumba didn’t always see eye-to-eye. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Lumumba says in the documentary that his comments did not go down well at Collingwood.

“People made it very clear to me that I had done the wrong thing ... that I had thrown the president under the bus,” Lumumba says, according to reports in Fairfax Media.

“I was being accused of trying to boost my profile, taking advantage of this unfortunate situation. People were almost making him (McGuire) out to be the victim.”

Lumumba says he was called “Chimp” by Magpies teammates for years, a position disputed by Collingwood.

He also recounts a heated meeting with coach Nathan Buckley over what he describes as racist and homophobic banter in 2014.

In the documentary Lumumba says he walked two laps of the oval at the Holden Centre Oval then stormed into Buckley’s office and called the coach “an insensitive f---”.

“You have fantastic football knowledge but you lack sensitivity and emotional intelligence,” Lumumba says he told Buckley.

The explosive claims are set to air on SBS on Demand from August 27.

Originally published as Heritier Lumumba slams Collingwood culture in controversial new documentary