‘Racist’ clubs should be banned for a whole season to send strong message, expert says

A leading sports expert says that banning racist AFL clubs for an entire season would make a huge difference in stamping out the issue.

Footy clubs should be banned for the season if they don’t stamp out racism, a sports academic says.

Racism problems at Collingwood were the “tip of the iceberg” and reflected prejudice that was rife throughout sport and Australian life, Professor Richard Pringle, a Sports Sociologist at Monash University, said.

“If the AFL was serious about racism, it would introduce penalties for clubs that fail to address systemic racism within their ranks. Banning Collingwood for a season, for example, would make a huge difference. It would spark outrage but it would force clubs to make a genuine attempt to stamp out racism,” Prof Pringle told the Herald Sun, adding, if the AFL was serious about tackling the problem they would make an example of Collingwood.

“If they wanted to stamp out racism in footy they could set Collingwood up as an indicator to the rest that this isn’t good enough and they could have a serious punishment for them – if it was serious enough, it would force other clubs to make a stand as well.”

Heritier Lumumba spoke out about his encounters with racism whil playing footy.

Policies that penalised individuals would make an individual more careful about the language they used, but wouldn’t necessarily drive cultural change.

“Changing cultural beliefs is more difficult. It requires critical education so that individuals know of the harms that racism can cause, and promote a desire to stand up to racism,” he said.

Sport needed to be a more inclusive place.

“It’s pretty clear [some clubs] are not inclusive for a whole range of people. Different clubs have different problems...there is research [that shows] clubs in regional Victoria have a bigger problem than those in central Melbourne.”

He was not surprised by the “shocking revelations”, but was hopeful the bombshell report would led to positive

“A wealth of issues have been raised. There is a broader Australian issue...But there is a growing awareness of racism in this country.”

Prof Pringle said it was clear from research how dangerous racism could be and how it could “destroy an individuals self worth”.

“It has been linked to less life expectancy, poor health and a range of social problems. So it needs to be taken seriously.”

Magpies president Eddie McGuire.

He thought the fact racism issues were so well known – and not dealt with – did even more harm.

“In people’s eyes it would have exacerbated the problem. There’s awareness there is a circulation of racist ideas in this club and nothing has happened, meaning the people in charge are perhaps supportive of those ideals.”

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