Andrew Krakouer says he heard some Collingwood players call Heritier Lumumba ‘Chimp’

FORMER Collingwood forward Andrew Krakouer says he heard Magpies players call Heritier Lumumba ‘Chimp’, while he reveals the moment he knew he no longer wanted to be at the club.

Andrew Krakouer says he heard some Collingwood players call Heritier Lumumba ‘Chimp’.

A COLLINGWOOD teammate has backed Heritier Lumumba’s claim that he was nicknamed “Chimp” during his time at the club.

Former small forward Andrew Krakouer says he heard Magpies players use the term in the gym, locker room and on the training track at the club’s Holden Centre headquarters on “multiple occasions”.

He says he wanted to confront the offenders but was talked out of it by Lumumba.

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Krakouer also alleged he was pressured into playing a game in May 2013 after Collingwood president Eddie McGuire directed his King Kong jibe at Sydney star Adam Goodes.

“I feel I suffered as a player due to a lack of cultural understanding by my employer (Collingwood) and by some of my teammates,” Krakouer told the Herald Sun from Karratha, WA.

“I didn’t get the best out of my career, especially in my final two seasons, and I feel this was somewhat due to what I experienced and how certain situations were handled by the football club.”

Of the alleged “Chimp” nickname given to Lumumba, Krakouer said: “I remember hearing it one time and straight away I thought it was a racist remark.

Andrew Krakouer says he heard some Collingwood players call Heritier Lumumba ‘Chimp’.

“My understanding of it, being a dark-skinned man, was that being called a Chimp was a derogatory term.

“I raised that with Heritier and said: ‘That’s not right, man — these boys shouldn’t be saying that to you. It’s not right, it’s racist’.

“Heritier said: ‘Don’t worry about it, just leave it’. And I said, ‘No, man, it’s not right. Do you want me to say something?’ And he told me he didn’t feel comfortable with me getting involved.

“I respected his wishes ... but obviously I let him know that in my opinion, it was wrong, and I’m glad that he finally found the courage to say something because it was wrong and had to stop.”

On the aftermath of the McGuire-Goodes debacle, Krakouer said: “We were playing interstate that week, and I didn’t want to go.

“I was urged by the coaches to fly to Brisbane and play against my wishes, because I was told it would be seen as a statement against Eddie and the club.

“I knew when I boarded that plane that my spirits within me were broken.

Andrew Krakouer says he was forced to play a game for Collingwood against his wishes in 2013. Picture: Margaret Bertling.

“I was doing what the club had urged me to do, but in doing so I felt that I had turned my back on my culture, my family, my people, myself and my identity, all for the sake of the football club and the situation.

“It was at that point I knew that I no longer belonged at Collingwood.

“No doubt the club helped and they did what they thought was best, but through their lack of cultural understanding, the damage was done.

“Looking back on it now, that was certainly the case.”

Krakouer said he had “an enormous amount of respect” for McGuire but was deeply hurt and upset by the Goodes comments.

At the time, he raised his concerns with his manager, Matthew Gray.

“We arranged a meeting with Eddie, and it was during that meeting that Andrew expressed his lack of desire to continue playing football,” Gray said.

“Eddie has always been a great supporter of Andrew and his family, and he always had Andrew’s best interests at heart.

Andrew Krakouer has come out in support of Heritier Lumumba. Picture: Michael Klein

“Eddie did all he could to re-ignite Andrew’s flair and passion for football, but it was sad, you could see Andrew was a broken man — his time in football was up and I feel it was elements of the club’s culture which contributed to this.”

In a documentary released last week, Lumumba described Collingwood as a “boys’ club for racist and sexist jokes” and accused coach Nathan Buckley of lacking “emotional intelligence”.

The Pies’ 2010 premiership player claimed his stand against McGuire’s comments ultimately led to his departure from the club.

Krakouer, 34, said he had come forward to support Lumumba and to hopefully work with Collingwood, the AFL and the football community to better educate people on cultural awareness.

The son of North Melbourne champion Jim Krakouer, Andrew played 137 games for Richmond and Collingwood between 2001 and 2013.

He was drafted by the Pies in October 2010 after serving time in prison for assault.

Andrew Krakouer played three seasons with Collingwood.

“I saw what Heritier said and it opened up a little box about my own experiences ... but this isn’t about pointing the finger at anyone — it’s about supporting Heritier with what he is saying and being part of a solution to continue to improve for the next generation,” Krakouer said.

“Having been aware of what my dad and uncle (Phil) experienced during their playing days, we have come a long way in cultural awareness and respect — but from what I experienced there is still a long way to go in closing that gap.

“I witnessed and experienced racist language and behaviour ... and there’s got to be a better way where we can all work together and raise our awareness and be more educated.

“No doubt there are situations which we could all have handled better, but I’d love for us to be able to stamp racism out of our game.”

Collingwood has not responded publicly to the claim Lumumba was called “Chimp” by some players.