AFL 2023: Jamarra Ugle-Hagan racially abused by fan during match

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s mother has revealed the vile abuse the former No. 1 pick was subjected to as the young star spends time away from the Western Bulldogs.

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan takes on Mason Wood of the Saints. Picture: Michael Klein

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s mother has revealed the vile abuse the former No. 1 pick was subjected to during and after the Bulldogs match against St Kilda on the weekend.

Alice Ugle has delivered a stinging rebuke to the supporters who abused her son on Saturday night at Marvel Stadium and later in private messages.

Ms Ugle chose to detail the confronting abuse, largely unedited, in an emotion-charged poem on Facebook.

“My son was racially discriminated against … by a St Kilda fan,” she wrote on Facebook.

“Can you believe in 2023 the word ‘c***’ is still used?

“The word ‘c***’ thrown with reckless abandon,

“A slur that cuts deep like a sharp abandon,

“Its venomous tone, a reflection of hate,

“A reminder of how far we still have to go, it’s our fate.

“But we won’t give in, we won’t back down,

“We’ll stand up tall and never let our spirits drown,

“For we know that love will always triumph over hate.

“To also receive a private message from a random ‘Hang yourself you *** rat’.”

Ugle-Hagan heard the alleged comments from the crowd on Saturday night and shared the horrid experience with his mother Alice, but didn’t tell anyone from the club until Sunday.

As the AFL said it would continue to ban racist spectators as it hunts the member of the crowd who racially vilified the young Bulldogs player on Saturday night, a shaken Ugle-Hagan was given the day off by the club as his teammates trained at Whitten Oval.

Bulldog Jamarra Ugle-Hagan was abused by fans at Marvel Stadium. Picture: Michael Klein

The 20-year-old is expected to be back at the club for main training on Tuesday in preparation for Thursday night’s crunch clash against Brisbane.

AFL inclusion and social policy general manager Tanya Hosch said the league and clubs had banned patrons for up to three years after identifying them for racial abuse.

Olympian and former politician Nova Peris — who was the first Indigenous woman elected to federal parliament — slammed the perpetrators on Monday.

“I’ve seen what was said to Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and it’s putrid,” she wrote, citing the upcoming 30-year anniversary of former Saint Nicky Winmar’s strong stance against racism.

“If any sporting code is serious about stamping out racism, this person needs a life ban and be made an example of.

“Let’s see their face!”

Social media trolls who have repeatedly abused players have also been tracked down and sanctioned after the league helped players make official complaints.

But Hosch admitted it was “distressing” to realise people were setting up multiple fake accounts with the sole purpose of racially vilifying players.

New laws were passed in federal parliament last year which draw increased fines for social media platforms if they do not remove racist messages.

But Hosch told the Herald Sun the AFL’s gains were hard-won given some players are reluctant to be involved in official complaints they must lodge themselves, with the league pushing for stronger penalties for online abuse.

“Jamarra is in very good hands. We are taking it very seriously and we understand the impact it has on him and his family. It is really important that people start to understand this is genuinely harmful. This is not a small thing,” she said.

“To think people who are going about their business should be subjected to racist abuse just because they are doing their job is outrageous.

“When it comes to online matters, we have had successful results and the reason you don’t know about them is they were a success. There have been incidents with patrons removed from games and the clubs have initiated bans of two or three years with memberships. When we can locate someone there is no lack of willingness across the code to take action.

“It’s about time people took responsibility and realised what they are doing vilifying people is unlawful.”

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan takes a grab on Saturday night. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The AFL has lobbied for harsher penalties for online abuse and easier channels to make official complaints.

“Ultimately the threshold for putting in a complaint and having action taken is very high. The complaint can’t be put in on behalf of players. It has to be the player who decides to take action. We would like to see platforms take stronger action about preventing their platforms being used in this way. We are doing everything we can behind the scenes to increase vigilance but also lobbying and advocating for stronger remedies for online abuse in particular.”

Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli said he was “angry and disappointed” by the abuse in what he labelled “disgusting behaviour”.

“This can’t keep happening. It’s got to stop,” he said.

“Jamarra is our No. 1 concern. We’ll support him and his family as best as we possibly can and put our arms around him.

“He’s a young person. He’s learning a lot about his football, about his career. But this shouldn’t be something that we have to acknowledge as part of his journey.”

St Kilda chief executive Simon Lethlean said his club would do “all in our power” to identify the fan who racially abused Ugle-Hagan and would “absolutely” cancel their membership if they were found to be a member.

Lethlean said it was “completely inappropriate” to still be dealing with such issues 30 years after Winmar’s historic anti-racism stance.

“We all despair if a player of any background can‘t feel safe in their workplace and people in the crowd think it’s Okay to say those things,” Lethlean said.

“We encourage all fans to call out this behaviour, to stop it, to teach your kids what is right.”

Ugle-Hagan broke his silence on the incident on Instagram on Monday night.

“Beyond grateful for all the overwhelming support,” he wrote.

“Especially the Western Bulldogs, family and friends.

“Appreciate everyone for reaching out and checking in

“Keep educating those around you. No one should feel this way.

“Always was, always will be.”

Originally published as AFL 2023: Jamarra Ugle-Hagan racially abused by fan during match