Chad Wingard opens up on the Black Lives Matter movement, his experiences with racism, self-imposed media ban, weekend protests and moving forward
AFL star Chad Wingard opens up on the Black Lives Matter movement, his public media stance, experiences with racism and weekend protests after a week of “anger, shame and conversation”.
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South Australian indigenous AFL star Chad Wingard has opened up on the “anger and shame” he felt watching the Black Lives Matter protests in the US and why he hopes it will be an awakening for reconciliation in this country.
In an exclusive interview with The Advertiser’s Black Australia Podcast, Wingard also explained the reasons behind his self-imposed media ban and revealed how his own experiences with racism had shaped his motivation to stand up for his people.
Wingard is a proud Ngarrindjeri man from Murray Bridge who was a two-time All Australian and club champion at Port Adelaide before joining Hawthorn in 2018.
“Being a man of colour and seeing that (the death of George Floyd and subsequent protests) happen it got me emotional in two different ways,” he said.
“I was angry and a little bit ashamed because I was wondering why Australia was getting so angry about this happening in America, and when it happens here ... the exact same thing - David Dungay (in 2015) said 12 times ‘I can’t breathe’, why does that not stick (in Australia)?
“What was the difference between what was happening there and here? I felt like I had to shine a light on what was happening in our own backyard. That was the moment I felt I had to stand up and voice this (on social media).”
But he wants the discussion in Australia to go further than the 400-plus indigenous deaths in custody since 1991 and police brutality. He wants it to lead to better health outcomes for Aboriginal people and an end to discrimination.
“Is this also a good time to talk about moving forward? 100 per cent and this is why we’re using this platform because yes it’s sad all the stuff that is happening but what is the next step? How can you be the best ally that you can and how can indigenous people do more?” he said.
“And I feel like this is the first time in a long time where there is a clear cut line, we have so many allies, it is everyone against racism.
“For the first time I feel very confident that people’s ears are open and the conversations are being heard, at the moment it’s in our faces in the media and I hope it can continue on for the future.”
Wingard tweeted this week that he no longer trusted the media to shine a light on indigenous issues but said he also didn’t want to be the face of the fight because it was the cause rather than the person who mattered.
“I don’t want to be out of control, I want to be in control, and I think this (social media) is the best platform,” he told the Black Australia podcast which is co-hosted by Port Adelaide’s Aboriginal programs manager Paul Vandenbergh.
“But I didn’t want to put my face in front of the media because it’s not me or an Aboriginal man against white Australians, literally everyone is hurting and it’s everyone against racism.
“I wanted to take my actual being out of the situation because it’s the subject that I’m trying to spread, I’m going to be fine because I’ve got the support and believe in what I’m doing, I need you guys (media and industry) to support what I’m trying to say, and I was trying to find the best way to do that.
“The social media stuff is working and a lot of people are asking questions and I don’t think anything bad has happened from open conversations and listening.”
The 26-year-old shared his own personal experiences with racism including attacks on social media and being asked to empty his pockets in front of shoppers in a supermarket in Perth with teammate Jake Neade.
He said he spoke to former Crow and Collingwood footballer Tony Armstrong on Thursday after Armstrong went public with his story of being racially profiled by police in a cafe in Melbourne.
“I’m not at Port (Adelaide) now so I can say it - we used to have a choccy run, go to the shops the night before a game and get a couple of chocolates,” Wingard said.
“Me, Jakey Neade, Alipate Carlile and Jackson Trengove used to come with us, but this time it was just me and Jake in a supermarket in Perth.
“We got our chocolates and came to the front desk to pay for it and the guy (shop attendant) got really aggressive and said ‘empty your pockets, you guys are stealing’. Neadey was calm and I fired up ... to the point there was this burning desire I could feel inside me.
“Just from that simple thing we were minding our own business paying for our food, we were literally made to open all our pockets and show him we were not stealing, we paid for our food and we left.”
He said he was also left feeling like “a piece of dirt” when clubs and the AFL were not willing to publicly call out racist attacks on social media early in his career.
“If they’re going to write this for everyone to see on my photo, we’ve got to call them out, and they do now, but this wasn’t happening at the start of my career,” he said.
“This was on a weekly basis if you go into your DM’s or a photo, that was normal, and clubs didn’t want to call it out at all and it made you feel a piece of dirt that you weren’t good enough for them to back you in.”
Wingard and his Hawthorn teammates have spent this week learning about Aboriginal painting as part of Reconciliation Week and he believes there should be more celebration of Aboriginal history and culture in schools and workplaces including big businesses and corporations.
“This is Australian culture, we’re Australians, we should be celebrating every part of it whether it’s dark, good or changing because it always is,” he said.
He won’t attend the Black Lives Matter protest marches being staged across Australia this weekend due to AFL coronavirus protocols but urges those who do to remain safe.
“We are fighting two viruses at the moment, one is racism, one is COVID-19 and we have to respect both of them, we are fighting for both of them to be annihilated,” Wingard said.
“We don’t want racism in this world and we have to be safe with the coronavirus, so make sure you sanitise, you keep your distance, if you are feeling unwell make sure you stay home and people who don’t feel comfortable or aren’t allowed to (attend) just have those conversations about what the protests are about and why it matters - black lives matter, here, there and everywhere, we’re fighting for equality.”
Vandenbergh said it was time for Australians to have the conversation about reconciliation.
“It’s so easy for Australia to look at America and say ‘thank God that’s not happening in our country’ because there’s a real sense of shamefulness of what the treatment of what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has been in the history of Australia,” he said.
“But you know what? That’s part of the healing process ... and we do want to move forward.
“We make up three per cent of the population so we can’t do it by ourselves, we need good people coming to fight the good fight and move us forward.
“Our culture is your culture and we want you to be proud of us, we want you to come out to regional and remote communities and spend time with families, that’s what changes people’s mindset and perception. We’ve probably never opened our lives and hearts more than now, it’s time to really share who we are as people.
“I’ve had Travis Boak reach out to me (this week) and say how does he get involved and that’s exactly what you want, and I think we’ve learnt a lot from the Adam Goodes situation.
“We don’t have all the answers, there are a lot smarter people out there than Chaddy and I about coming up with solutions but enough is enough and now is the time.”
While players and clubs took to social media with their own ‘Black Lives Matter’ posts this week, Wingard hopes clubs and the league will make a stance in whatever form that may be when the season resumes next weekend.
“It’s one of the biggest sporting bodies in Australia and they want to represent everything that’s good about Australia. They do stand up for a lot of the social issues in Australia and this is as big as any - and I would love for the AFL to step forward and make a stance,” Wingard said.
reece.homfray@news.com.au
Originally published as Chad Wingard opens up on the Black Lives Matter movement, his experiences with racism, self-imposed media ban, weekend protests and moving forward