AFL club reveals ‘shocking and saddening’ online abuse

An AFL club has provided harrowing examples of targeted racial abuse at its players, calling for more stringent punishments for offenders.

The Brisbane Lions have revealed the horrific online racial abuse their players received, as the Queensland-based club pushes for harsher punishments for the guilty parties.

In an official document submitted by the club for a Queensland parliamentary inquiry into serious vilification and hate crimes, the Lions stated their players “are consistently exposed to vilification and hate speech,” with social media proving to be a common arena for these sad encounters.

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In the document, the Lions provide five different examples of the abuse, even going as back as July 2019 to detail the “shocking and saddening” messages in reference to their players.

The first example was a conversation on Facebook Messenger, when one individual declared a player was “a little useless ape”, “to chuck him in the zoo” and “throw bananas at him”.

Another instance of online racial abuse came via a comment underneath an Instagram post, in which a user commented “I hate aboriginals, there (sic) scum”.

Across almost all of the examples, the Lions alerted the AFL Integrity unit as well as released a club statement condemning racism.

In the document, the club took a firm stance on the issue, stating: “It is our belief that there needs to be additional regulation and legislation, particularly of online platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, to ensure that those committing these acts of vilification can be held accountable and subjected to law as would any other criminal.”

The Brisbane Lions submitted an official document as part of an ongoing inquiry into serious vilification and hate crimes. Picture: James Elsby / AFL Photos via Getty Images

The Lions also revealed the severe emotional toll it takes on the players, as they’re left with the “frustration that without harder consequences it continues to happen.”

In the document, Brisbane also put forward several recommendations, having consulted the club’s Indigenous athletes.

The recommendations included law reform for online social media platforms, better education in schools, the consideration for identity verification for online accounts to trace perpetrators as well as a national campaign to promote an easy process to report the crimes.

The Lions’ official document is just the latest string of communications from AFL clubs this season regarding racial abuse.

On Monday, Essendon came out with a club statement after a fan made racist comments directed at Bombers forward Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti after the club’s loss to the Western Bulldogs over the weekend.

“Vilification, racial or otherwise, has absolutely no place in our society. This must stop now, and it starts with all of us in calling out this vile behaviour,” the club’s statement read.

Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti was the subject of online racial abuse after Essendon’s loss to the Western Bulldogs. Picture: Michael Klein

“The Essendon Football Club stands in total solidarity with McDonald-Tipungwuti and will continue its fight against racism.

“It has to stop.”

McDonald-Tipungwuti released a statement of his own via Instagram, calling for unity among all Australians despite the terrible abuse he received.

“As a society we should never define anyone by the colour of their skin, religion, race, culture or ability. In Australia we are one people and a diverse community that should be galvanising together instead of ripping each other apart,” McDonald-Tipungwuti wrote.

“My family and I, like many others, are separated by distance and Covid restrictions which has made this year very difficult for all. We all feel isolated and we should be using our words to unite us in the face of adversity.”

A player who found himself in significant trouble over racial abuse is former Adelaide Crows captain Taylor Walker.

At a SANFL game between the Crows and North Adelaide in July, Walker directed a racist slur towards North Adelaide player Robbie Young.

An Adelaide Crows official overheard Walker’s comment and reported the incident to the club, who then reported it to the AFL.

The incident was then investigated by the AFL Integrity Unit, and after a conciliation between Walker, Young, the Adelaide Crows official and the AFL, the decision was made to suspend Walker for the remainder of the 2021 season as well as the opening three games of the 2022 campaign.