Indigenous AFL players hatched plan to name and shame racist trolls in pre-season
After yet another racist attack online, this time on Eagle Liam Ryan, Mark Robinson reveals indigenous players made a stance at their pre-season summit to name and shame racist trolls.
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Indigenous leader Des Headland has warned online racists they will be named and shamed in a new tactic to combat social media trolls.
Indigenous players, with the backing of the AFL Players’ Association, will republish racist comments and the names of people attached to the comments, and widely condemn them.
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It was decided at the indigenous players’ summit in Adelaide before the season the players would no longer tolerate race hate.
They took their plan to the AFLPA which threw its support behind the campaign.
“It’s about leadership, see something, say something,’’ Headland told the Herald Sun yesterday.
“It’s time we stamp out this crap and what better way to name and shame and see who it is.
“You want to make these comments behind the keyboard, let’s see how strong you are when you have to face the community.”
It comes after Richmond suspended a club member for racially vilifying West Coast’s Liam Ryan via social media at the weekend.
Ryan was called a “monkey’’ by a father named Ash Jones who has since made a public apology.
The Tigers moved quickly to ban Jones.
“The club has immediately suspended the person’s membership for two years, revoking all of their member rights,’’ the Tigers said.
“Racial vilification has no place in our game, and no place in our society, and the club will continue to take strong measures to ensure there is zero tolerance to this behaviour.’’
In February, Adelaide’s Eddie Betts was the recipient of racial abuse.
Two weeks ago, Collingwood’s Travis Varcoe issued a plea in the Herald Sun to footy supporters for respect.
Ryan was subjected to abuse by Jones and another social media user who was understood to have deleted his account.
Headland, who is chairman of the indigenous Player Alliance, said the comment about Ryan was “disturbing’’ and that he was proud people had supported the indigenous stance.
“There has been a lot more people calling out these online trolls and racists,’’ Headland said.
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people always call out racism no matter what and we need support from the wider community and that’s been happening.
“You see Patty Dangerfield coming out, you see Paul Marsh (AFL players’ boss) and the PA coming out and saying something and it’s fantastic to see that.
“You’ve got to call these cowards out, name and shame them, get them out the front to see who they are.”
He said the comments not only affected Ryan, but his family and community.
“We should be celebrating the way he plays footy more than anything else,’’ Headland said.
The AFL’s Integrity Unit investigated the Ryan abuse, which led to yesterday’s suspension.
AFL General Manager Inclusion and Social Policy Tanya Hosch said the AFL would act against online racism.
“The comments directed at Liam Ryan are only the latest in what appears to be an increasing number of racist posts appearing on the players, and broader, online platforms,” Hosch said.
“Where the AFL can take action, we will.”
Eagles chief executive Trevor Nisbett denounced the social media posts as “abhorrent, disgusting and vitriolic garbage”.
The club yesterday released a video featuring indigenous liaison officer and former Eagle Phil Narkle, and newly-appointed development coach Chance Bateman, declaring they did not tolerate racism.
West Coast’s opponents this weekend, the Giants added their support.
“We may be on opposing sides on the field on Saturday, but we’re united on this,’’ the Giants said.
ONLINE TROLLS COULD FACE DEFAMATION ACTION: AFLPA
—JON RALPH
The AFL and player union will unite to tackle trolls peddling hate by harnessing defamation rules to punish keyboard cowards.
AFLPA boss Paul Marsh said the AFL’s players would continue to call out every example of racial abuse on social media.
Marsh is keen to see legislation for social media giants that ensures users are identified so they can be held accountable for their actions.
He believes users trolling AFL players can then be punished under the laws currently in place for social media.
“We have had a serious conversation with the AFL about how we as an industry combat this,” Marsh said.
“We are doing some work on an approach and we will sit down with the AFL soon and work through what we are seeing.
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“There are laws that deal with certain behaviours. If I was to write an article in the Herald Sun that used this language I would get sued, so it’s about publishing laws, how do we attack the anonymity of social media users?
“If you don’t know who they are its hard to address these issues, but if you do know who they are you can use the laws already in place. So that’s all part of our thinking.
“This is daily abuse. This is bigger than racism. We have seen issues directed to our female players, indigenous players and multicultural players, mental health issues, this is just directing hatred towards people of celebrity and our AFL players sit in that category.”
Marsh said the league’s players and union had no hesitation in taking up the call from the league’s indigenous players to call out all examples of racism.
“We have historically had an approach of going to a player vilified and saying, ‘Do you want us to take this up on your behalf?’
“More often that not the players have said, ‘I don’t want the attention’, and you have to respect it.
“At the indigenous camp we raised the issue.
“I was there in the room and the players said, ‘No we need to take a stance on this. We need to take it out of the individual’s hands, call it out’, and the next week Eddie Betts was vilified.
“We called it out, at every opportunity we have had we have done that.
“And we will keep doing it but the players feel very supported when you call it out on their behalf.”
Originally published as Indigenous AFL players hatched plan to name and shame racist trolls in pre-season
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