Crows star Izak Rankine cops horror online racist abuse after that Brisbane Lions bump

An aspiring sports journo has had his Brisbane Lions membership cancelled after posting vile abuse towards Crows star Izak Rankine online.

An aspiring sports journalist who targeted Adelaide star Izak Rankine with racist abuse online says he was “intoxicated and pissed off” when he posted and is “extremely remorseful” over his actions.

Adelaide has described the slur as “disgusting” and “abhorrent” and “it is infuriating that these situations continue to occur”.

The Crows star was the subject of two social media posts from Jakob Matheson on his X account on Sunday that contained racially-fuelled language.

One in particular was brought to the attention of the Crows football department.

Rankine is facing a suspension of at least four games after a bump that left Brisbane defender Brandon Starcevich concussed in the first quarter of the Crows loss to the Lions.

Izak Rankine’s bump on Lions Brandon Starcevich

Rankine after kicking a goal against the Lions. Picture: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The posts were made after the incident.

On his LinkedIn account, Matheson – who studied journalism at the University of SA and now resides in Victoria – describes himself as an aspiring sports and radio podcaster.

Matheson told The Advertiser he was “extremely sorry about (his) actions” and had since deleted his social media accounts.

“I was a bit intoxicated and frustrated because he knocked out a Brisbane Lions player and I obviously wasn’t thinking when I tweeted it,” Matheson said.

“I know there is nothing I can do, I obviously wasn’t thinking when I tweeted it.

“I’ll make sure nothing like this ever happens again.

“I am extremely remorseful and solemnly apologise and will do better to educate myself in the future.”

Mr Matheson said the Brisbane Lions had contacted him on Sunday night and informed him his membership had been cancelled.

Crows chief executive Tim Silvers said the club strongly endorsed the action by the Lions and support was being provided to Rankine.

Silvers said it was especially disappointing given it was NAIDOC Week.

“There is no place for racism of any kind in society and it is extremely sad and disappointing that we find ourselves dealing with yet another abhorrent attack on one of our players,” Silvers said.

“As an industry we have a collective responsibility to not only call out racism, but do everything we can to eradicate it, and we support Brisbane which has acted swiftly and decisively.

“It is also important we take the time to understand the hurt this behaviour causes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people because unfortunately, despite how far we have come in this space, the message is still not getting through.

Jakob Matheson.

The aspiring sports journo has apologised for his online comments.

“The club will continue to support Izak and his family and do whatever we can to stamp out racism in football and the wider community.”

In a statement the Lions said the comments did not reflect the value of our club.

“Racism is unacceptable. There are no excuses,” the club said.

“We condemn the social media comments made towards an Adelaide Crows player during the match last night.

“They do not reflect the values of our club or our players.

“The comments have been reported to AFL Integrity for further investigation.

“The individual’s membership has been cancelled immediately.”

The Crows are aware of the posts and will put out a statement on Monday.

It is the second time in the last two years that Rankine was racially vilified online.

After the Crows win over Fremantle in April last year, the star received a racist personal message on Instagram from a different individual.

He initially stewed over the message before informing the club.

Sharing the slur, from an account with zero followers or posts that could be identified, Rankine said it was “pretty disappointing to STILL have to deal with this. When will it end”.

Originally published as Crows star Izak Rankine cops horror online racist abuse after that Brisbane Lions bump