Essendon backs Australia Day date change as former Swan speaks out
Essendon has become the latest sporting team to call for an Australia Day date change, as a former Swan revealed he turned down an invitation to be an ambassador for the day.
Essendon has become the latest Australian sporting team to throw its weight behind an Australia Day date change, releasing a strongly-worded statement pushing for change on the morning of the national holiday.
After Cricket Australia’s move to drop all references to Australia Day, which was met with strong support from Big Bash League side Sydney Thunder, the Bombers took a stand by saying January 26 was not a day to celebrate.
“We at Essendon Football Club acknowledge that today is a day of sadness and pain for indigenous peoples,” the club’s statement read.
“We are committed to being a culturally safe and inclusive place where Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples want to play, work and support. We value our strong connection with indigenous Australia and we are committed to reconciliation and celebration the survival of the oldest living culture on earth. We look forward to a time when all Australians can enjoy a day of national celebration together.”
Former Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy was a pioneer in increasing the prevalence of indigenous players in the AFL and the Bombers have are a partner of The Long Walk, an organisation set up by former Bombers champion Michael Long which aims to improve and support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and life opportunities.
Other AFL clubs also released statements acknowledging indigenous Australians on what some believe to be a day of “sadness”.
“We at Richmond Football Club acknowledge today is a day of sadness for many of us,” the Tigers’ statement read.
“We place enormous value on our connection with indigenous Australia. We stand united in our commitment to reconciliation and celebrating the survival of the world’s oldest living culture.”
The club statements came as former Sydney champion Jude Bolton revealed he had turned down an invitation to be an Australia Day ambassador, given he was “mindful of the mixed feelings from a number of close indigenous friends around the current date”.
Bolton’s former teammate Adam Goodes was named Australian of the Year in 2014 but said after accepting the award that, “It’s a very sad day for a lot of our mob”.
The AFL did not buy into the date change debate in its own statement, which was released to congratulate the 11 people involved in football who received Australia Day Honours.
However, the league’s executive general manager of inclusion and social policy, Tanya Hosch, had last week called on decision makers to “revisit that date”.
Herald Sun
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