Ex-teammate of Lumumba still angered by Collingwood’s treatment of star

American Shae McNamara spent three seasons on Collingwood’s list and remains in contact with Heritier Lumumba. He is adamant Lumumba was wronged by the club.

Former Magpie Shae McNamara remains concerned by the treatment his teammate Heritier Lumumba received at Collingwood.

Former Magpie Shae McNamara had reason to ponder the apologies issued by Collingwood’s past and present players to Heritier Lumumba this week with frustration.

Why had it taken so long? And when would some of his former teammates acknowledge their behaviour towards Lumumba on an individual basis?

“If he had not had the courage to say something, everyone would have swept this under the rug,” he told The Weekend Australian.

“If they continue to bite their tongue, because they all knew what happened, they will have to live with that. And that brings shame, guilt and embarrassment.”

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Earlier this week, Collingwood’s original “American Pie”, a former teammate of Lumumba, expressed his irritation at events that go back a decade.

It followed the leaking of the “Do Better” report which found evidence of systemic racism at the club.

McNamara, who arrived in Melbourne in 2009 after playing college basketball at the top tier with Marist College in New York, saw it all first-hand in nearly four years at the club.

He is among the few players to have publicly backed Lumumba’s version of what occurred during his time at the club and continues to support the former Magpies star.

McNamara expressed surprise he was not approached by the authors of the Do Better report given his own experiences.

“All those teammates of mine, all those coaches, all those admin staff, all those on the board, I know they are not actually racist, but they were enabling a systemic issue by biting their tongue for self-preservation, and that is a problem with our society,” he said.

When McNamara arrived in Melbourne, the culture shock was significant. The 35-year-old appreciated the welcome he received from Collingwood president Eddie McGuire, who this week was heavily criticised for his initial description of the Do Better report as a “proud and historic” day for the Magpies.

But it was not long before he was disturbed by behaviour that extended beyond simple cultural differences, with the tone of language directed towards Lumumba raising his ire.

In the infancy of his time at Collingwood as a project player, McNamara worked with a small group including Lumumba as the broader squad headed to Arizona for altitude training.

“In 2009, when we were in the pool, I said to him, ‘Hey man. I don’t really like the way they are talking to you. I don’t like what they are saying to you, calling you ‘Chimp’,” he said.

“He said, ‘It is what it is, man. It is what this culture is. They are years behind America. You will find out.’ I remember thinking, ‘Is this really happening?’”

McNamara, who showed promise during the three years he spent at Collingwood but was unable to break into an extremely strong side, said Lumumba tried to fit in.

Some critics have wondered why the 34-year-old remained with Collingwood for a decade given the allegations he has raised.

Lumumba’s last couple of seasons at Collingwood were particularly testing after he voiced his criticism of McGuire following a racist gaffe about champion Swan Adam Goodes.

“I said to him, basically, ‘This is messed up’. And he said, ‘Don’t say anything. It is not going to change and it is only going to create more chaos, so don’t’. I took his word, but I felt really bad,” McNamara said.

“It is unfathomable for anyone to deny that racism exists to some extent. Is it the same connotation of the 60s? No. Not even close. We have evolved. But there is still stuff. The teasing. I had never heard the phrase ‘wog’, for example. It is like friendly banter gone wrong. It really is.

“I heard a joke about slaves. Obviously I heard ‘chimp’ many times and I called it out right away when I heard it. People don’t understand H’s pain. They will say, ‘It was just a teasing word’. But it was brutally inappropriate. Just as it is brutally inappropriate for someone to call you a wog.”

Now based in Milwaukee with his family, McNamara remains in contact with Lumumba, who is living in Los Angeles.

“He got cut for throwing Eddie McGuire under the bus for what he said about Adam Goodes. He is the one who had integrity and you are going to punish the one who had integrity?”

“We are supposed to be side-by-side. He called out unacceptable behaviour and now he is the arsehole? That is basically what Bucks (Nathan Buckley) said. It is just disappointing. Really, really disappointing.”