AFL praises player support for Adelaide Crows star Eddie Betts as racist comments on social media continue to rear their ugly head

The AFL has lauded its players for their public support of Adelaide Crows star Eddie Betts — as it attempts to identify the person responsible for posting the comment on Instagram and could revoke their club or AFL membership if they have one.

Indigenous AFL star Eddie Betts has been subjected to a racist slur on social media.

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The AFL has lauded its players for their public support of Adelaide Crows star Eddie Betts and says player power is one of the strongest tools in combating racism.

Betts received widespread support from the competition on the weekend after he highlighted a racist comment on a photo of him and Hawthorn legend Shaun Burgoyne arriving to play AFLX on Friday night.

The comment ‘monkey see monkey do’ was posted on a photo on the Adelaide Crows’ official Instagram account of which Betts re-posted and added “when will it stop, why can’t we just play footy, why can’t we just all get along”.

The Crows released a statement strongly condemning the racial abuse directed at Betts but racist comments continued to be posted in the reply section of their Instagram account on Sunday including pictures of a banana and a monkey.

The club subsequently deleted them and blocked the accounts responsible.

Betts and Burgoyne declined to comment on Sunday but the AFL and the Crows confirmed they were attempting to identify the person responsible for posting the comment on Instagram and may revoke their club or AFL membership if they had one.

The account in question has been deleted.

After condemning racist comments last night, here's some of the crap in the @Adelaide_FC comments feed today.

We need to make it clear such disgusting behaviour won't be tolerated in our society.

Racism is no joke. It's never OK. Enough is enough. pic.twitter.com/6iwB4u2U2W

— Kieron Turner (@kieronturner) February 24, 2019

Some of the game’s biggest names including Geelong Brownlow Medallist Patrick Dangerfield and Western Bulldogs premiership captain Easton Wood rallied around Betts over the weekend, labelling the behaviour “disgusting, cowardly and racist”.

Wood added: “No place in the game or society for this disgusting rubbish” while AFL Players Association boss Paul Marsh, new Port Adelaide captain Tom Jonas and former skipper Travis Boak also used their social media accounts to support the 295-game star.

AFL inclusion and social policy general manager Tanya Hosch described the situation as disappointing but praised players for taking a stand.

“It’s wonderful to see this kind of support spontaneously just show up like this, I’m sure Eddie must appreciate it and when you see it from outside your own teammates and right across the league — that’s a very positive thing,” Hosch said.

“They have a unique place in society, they do have a fanbase, they do have people who are listening and watching what they say and what they do.

“So to see this kind of leadership from across the league is an incredibly positive thing and hopefully that gets the message out there that racism is never OK.”

Eddie Betts has been a passionate ambassador for indigenous affairs. Picture: Bianca De Marchi/AAP

Hosch spoke to Betts on Sunday morning to ensure he had the necessary support in the wake of the incident.

“You just wonder when it’s going to stop don’t you, here we’ve got someone just doing their job, nothing more than that, and he’s subject to racist taunts and abuse on social media,” she said.

“We know that racism exists out there but it’s extremely disappointing when a leader like Eddie Betts who takes his responsibilities really seriously would find himself subject to this purely for just doing his job.

“Unfortunately this is not unusual territory for Eddie, so he’s disappointed but I think also what you always hear from people is ‘yes this is bad, I don’t understand why it’s happening’, but when people feel the support of their club I think they tend to try to focus on the positives when these things happen.

“But at the same time one of the things we have to remember is it shouldn’t be up to the person being vilified to speak the loudest, and I think that’s again why what’s come through on social media overnight is very positive and a statement.

The offensive comment circled in red and Eddie Betts' response on his Instagram page.

Last year, Betts was subjected to another racist comment on Instagram and in 2016 had a banana thrown at him during a Showdown at Adelaide Oval.

Saturday night’s incident came less than a week after Betts and Burgoyne headlined the AFL’s indigenous All Stars Summit in Adelaide where one of the key pillars was sharing with and educating non-Aboriginal officials on their culture.

For the first time the AFL is conducting a comprehensive review of the summit and is documenting player feedback so it can take meaningful action going forward.

“One of the things that was unique about this camp is we had industry leadership gather and share in the cultural experience with the players,” Hosch said.

“But also the players had an opportunity to speak to them about things they’d like to see in place going forward … to extend their longevity in the game and make the most of the opportunity that football provides.

“We’re going to have a report come out of the camp and that’s the first time we’ve done that, and that will provide for some accountability for the industry going forward and gives us a chance to make sure we respond to the playing group about what they’ve put forward to us.

“We owe it to the players if they’re going to apply themselves and work together to come up with ideas about things we can do to make improvements, to document it and respond to it.”

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Originally published as AFL praises player support for Adelaide Crows star Eddie Betts as racist comments on social media continue to rear their ugly head