Indigenous Sport Month: Ed Curnow opens up about Eddie Betts abuse

Ed Curnow knows better than anyone the magic that surrounds Eddie Betts – but he’s also acutely aware of the horrific abuse the Blues star has endured.

The razzle dazzle and trickery from Eddie Betts fooled everyone, even his own teammate.

It was Round 18, 2011 and the Carlton magician was having a night out at arch rival Essendon’s expense.

He would kick eight goals – the most he’s ever kicked in an AFL game – in a scintillating display to torch the Bombers.

It was his fifth major that is best remembered by all, including the teammate who saw it up close.

Gathering the ball near the boundary line, Betts sold some candy to get around Henry Slattery and a young Dyson Heppell before booting a trademark snap goal.

It was Betts at his best.

It stands out in Blues veteran Ed Curnow’s mind as his favourite Betts memory because of his supporting role in the much replayed goal.

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“It was a great goal and always gets shown on his highlights reels, and I remember it well because I thought I was a chance for a handball,” Curnow laughed.

“I was in the vicinity and he just basically used me as a dummy to get around about five blokes and kick an amazing goal.

“I think I was one of many decoys Eddie has used over the years, but I’d much rather have him going for an impossible snap than me taking it.

“It’s incredible seeing him from up close; he’s amazingly crafty and it’s great to see him kicking a few goals.”

The flipside of Betts’ extraordinary career has been the awful attacks he’s had to endure throughout the years.

Betts last year called out the latest in a long line of racially motivated barbs directed at him.

The 339-game forward, who is playing in his 17th AFL season, revealed at the time he’d been racially abused at least once a year for the past decade.

He considered whether or not to address a Twitter post which depicted him as a monkey, but felt it was his duty as an indigenous role model to call out despicable behaviour.

Carlton teammates Eddie Betts and Ed Curnow tackle Essendon’s Andrew McGrath during their Round 7 clash this year at the MCG. Picture: Michael Klein

The raw emotions that surrounded this episode were laid bare in the Amazon ‘Making their Mark’ documentary, which came out earlier this year.

“I watched the doco and it’s something I’ve never had to deal with and never will, but for Eddie to hear that abuse that he gets, he’s dealt with it his whole career,” Curnow said.

“He’s spoken to us at the club at length about it before.

“He’s got young kids and the way it affects him and his family, there was just a feeling from the whole playing group of sadness really when you learn he’s still having to handle and deal with those sort of comments.

“Eddie is a great mate and teammate to everyone at the club, so we’ll just support him in any way we can.

“It’s just really disappointing it’s still going on.”

‘WE ARE THERE FOR HIM’

Curnow said continual education was important to help further rid the game – and society – of racism.

“I like Eddie’s approach, it’s more about education and making people understand that words have impact and changing a bit of that culture that might still be there,” he said.

“In terms of how we supported him, it was asking how he felt and if we can do anything to help and just be there to support him.

“Eddie’s unfortunately had to deal with this his entire career and he’s got a great support network in place.

“We just have to be there for him when he needs us.”

Ed Curnow after being drafted to Adelaide in 2007.

Curnow training with the Geelong Falcons.

Curnow’s own experience with indigenous people started young, as his father, David, was the spiritual and community outreach co-ordinator at Geelong College until recently.

The then school chaplain had a passion for developing relationships with remote indigenous schools and communities.

He was instrumental in bringing indigenous kids from the top end to Victoria to broaden their education and world view.

On school holidays, the exchange students would often come from the boarding school to stay with Ed, his brother Charlie and the whole Curnow family on their 14-acre farm in Torquay.

“As kids it was a lot of fun for us to have more people in the house and more energy going on and more people to muck around with,” Ed Curnow said.

“I think for me and my brothers and sisters, we were really able to understand and learn about the backgrounds of some indigenous kids that would come down.

Curnow poses for a photograph with family members, (L-R) dad David, sister Eliza, wife Emily and their son Will, brother Charlie, brother George, sister Charlotte with her baby Lucinda, and mum Cassie. Picture: AAP

“It was a good experience.”

In Year 12, Curnow even spent some time in Alice Springs after becoming friends with an indigenous student during his time boarding at Geelong College.

“His name was Brian and he’d spent so much time down in Victoria at our home, so I thought it was time for me to go and see where he’s from and how he’s grown up,” Curnow said.

“So those experiences as a kid were great … and they really enriched our childhood.”

CHANGING ATTITUDES

This weekend begins the AFL’s annual celebration of indigenous players and their culture.

The round is named in honour of Sir Doug Nicholls, who is the only VFL/AFL player to have been knighted and to have served as a state governor.

He also played 54 games for Fitzroy between 1932 and 1937 after walking out of Carlton without playing a game.

Nicholls trained at the Blues but left after suffering a terrible indignity.

“Trainers in the Carlton rooms refused to rub him because he was Aboriginal,” former Carlton player Jack Hale said in the 1996 documentary ‘100 years of Australian Football’.

“He walked out of Carlton of course and he went over to Fitzroy and was a huge success for the Victorian Football League.”

Sir Doug Nicholls wearing the Big V.

Sir Doug later in life as Governor of SA.

Carlton righted this wrong in 2016, with the club inviting the Nicholls family to Ikon Park for an official Sir Doug Nicholls Acknowledgement.

A committed Christian, the late Nicholls once remarked that a footballer can preach his sermon by the way he plays the game.

The Blues today have five indigenous players on their senior men’s list, and Curnow said their culture and heritage is celebrated at the club.

“To see so many indigenous players in our game now thriving is unreal, especially given some of the remote communities that these players have come from and their standing in their communities and the influence they can have back home is really powerful,” Curnow said.

Carlton Legend Syd Jackson poses with current players wearing the 2021 Sir Douglas Nicholls Indigenous Jumper designed by Gunditjmara Woman Laura Thompson. Picture: Getty Images

“Indigenous players in our game are the most talented and exciting to watch; they’re naturally skilful, something I’m always very envious of.

“We’ve got Liam Jones in the side at the moment and Sam Petrevski-Seton, Zac Williams, Jack Martin and Eddie Betts.

“They’re all amazing AFL footballers and we’re lucky to have them at the footy club.

“They’re great leaders at our club, so I can only imagine how they are when they go home to their communities.

“You couldn’t ask for better role models than those guys.”

Originally published as Indigenous Sport Month: Ed Curnow opens up about Eddie Betts abuse