American Collingwood star Mason Cox has taken to Twitter after being called a ‘seppo’

A debate has broken out over whether use of the term “seppo” for Americans is derogatory and racist, after Pies star Mason Cox was called one.

American Mason Cox has been called a ‘seppo’. Picture: Michael Klein

American Collingwood star Mason Cox has taken to social media to query the meaning of the term “seppo” and whether it was insult, after being called one on Thursday.

“Today I was called a ‘seppo’. I didn’t quite understand it but assumed it was meant to be derogatory. Googled it and now not sure if I should be proud to be called a seppo?” he tweeted.

Cox added a screenshot of the definitions of seppo he found in his search, including it being an Australian rhyming slang word for Americans derived from the term ‘septic tank yank’.

That term referred to times when many Australians still had outdoor toilets, while Americans enjoyed the comforts of indoor loos thanks to septic tank systems.

Among the hundreds of comments on Cox’s tweet were many arguing ‘seppo’ was not racist or derogatory and in fact a term they had grown up hearing and used in a friendly manner.

Others said it meant “full of shit” and therefore was derogatory, while many others told Cox not to accept it as the term was definitely racist and rude.

“It’s derogatory. Not in common use, just used by racists/bigots who feel threatened,” one man said.

Another said use of the word towards Americans was xenophobic.