Port Adelaide footy bossy Chris Davies addresses Willie Rioli’s ban for threats to opposition players

Port Adelaide footy boss Chris Davies says Willie Rioli gets racially abused via social media “every day” and has had conversations about the length of his career due to the abuse.

Port Adelaide footy boss Chris Davies says Willie Rioli gets racially abused via social media “every day” and the Power believes that racism and casual racism is constant throughout the competition – even on-field “in the eyes of the people who face it”.

The Power footy boss also said he was hopeful that Rioli would return next week after he was issued with a one-match ban by the AFL for making “physical threats” to opposition players, but revealed that the constant racial abuse the star small forward receives had meant “he has absolutely had conversations with Port Adelaide over time about what the length of his career will be”.

While the Power accepted the one-match ban handed to Rioli on Thursday by the AFL, after he himself had earlier ruled himself out of selection for the Showdown on Saturday, the club issued a strongly worded statement that Rioli and many of its First Nations and multicultural players had endured racist abuse both directly and casually throughout their careers as a “persistent, ongoing reality”.

The club said this was in the wake of the AFL wanting greater transparency regarding on and off-field incidents.

“The Port Adelaide Football Club certaintly believes that the industry can be doing more to educate people within the industry on the challenges that are faced by both First Nations and multicultural players in the competition,” Davies said.

“That racism is constant, that baiting on things that very casual racism are constant.

“It is not only Willie, it is players through the competition.

“Comments that are made that are not within earshot of other people, they happen regularly and we have been making that point to the AFL this week.”

Davies said he wrote to the AFL three weeks ago regarding the reporting of the fallout of Rioli’s Instagram post regarding Hawthorn and him again being racially abused on social media.

“The idea that Willie was racially abused because of what he put on Instagram couldn’t be further from the truth,” Davies said.

“Willie gets racially abused via his social media every day. The idea that he provoked it is just so wrong.

“I can’t say to you how much more, that was a confronting period of time for the way that we all reported that.

“And then in the last 48 hours to see a whole heap of people… who don’t have the cultural understanding and depth to just be looking at these issues as so one dimensional. We all have more work to do.”

Willie Rioli Brad Close incident

Davies also said that the club and its First Nations and multicultural players felt that there constant casual racism on the field as well.

“Well that is in the eyes of the people who face it,” he said.

“When you’re dealing with various circumstances that may have an undertone of and I will give some examples, a person who is let’s say being suggested that he’s overweight.

“When that throughout their life has been part of they are overweight because of a cultural diet, you can only imagine that even if that’s not intended at the time that people get taken back into circumstances where they have felt culturally unsafe and have felt like they’re being ostracised for their race.

“I mean, these things are incidents that happen regularly. I’m in no way suggesting that the people who are saying them believe that they’re racist at the time, but we have to understand.

“And this that’s a very simple one. I don’t want to profess to be able to go into all of the different things that that Willie faces, but they are constant.

“And if we’re going to start to want to open the lid on this, then there is work to be done. Absolutely work to be done.”

Willie Rioli Bailey Dale incident

Rioli will undergo education as part of the sanction by the AFL “on respectful / non-violent language and conduct”.

Davies said Rioli wasn’t the only one in the industry that needed to undergo some education.

“I do believe that we can all do a little bit more education about the impacts of not only comments the way the comments can be perceived on the field,” he said.

Davies said he was hopeful Rioli would be available for selection for the Power next week, there were concerns that it would eventually become too much for the 30-year-old.

“He has absolutely had conversations with Port Adelaide over time on what the length of his career will be,” he said.

“I’m definitely hopeful (he will be back next week) and we will continue to support him in order that he makes sure that he does come back.”

PORT CONDEMNS RIOLI ‘PILE-ON’, VOWS TO SUPPORT EMBATTLED FORWARD

Port Adelaide football boss Chris Davies says it is in Willie Rioli’s best interests that he is not stood down from the club in the wake of the AFL investigating fresh claims over other threats made to opposition players.

Davies also strongly hit out at the “pile-on” regarding commentary around Rioli in the wake of allegations of threats to players in games surfacing in the aftermath of the AFL clearing him for a threatening message sent to a Western Bulldogs player about Bailey Dale after the Power’s heavy loss to them on Saturday in Ballarat.

“The last 24 hours I think the pile-on has been over the top,” he said.

Willie Rioli at Port Adelaide training on Wednesday night. Picture: Tim Joy

“That is not to suggest that the issue is not real, but what we are dealing with here the text message after a game and what is said during a game – albeit they are two separate things – I understand in this moment why we are looking at these things as a pattern of behaviour.

“But if we were to sanction every threat of violence on the field I think the AFL is going to have their hands full.”

Davies strongly refuted suggestions that standing down Rioli would be in his best interests, saying the club was determined to support him.

“I don’t believe that sending Willie away from the club is the way to deal with this issue,” he said.

“He has an issue to deal with here but we are not going to kick him out of our club and stand him down for any period of time that would suggest that he can’t be around teammates, people who are supportive and for him to sit at home and keep reading the rubbish that he gets constantly on social media.”

The Power footy boss said while Rioli had made a “pretty significant error” a lot of the commentary around him did not have an understanding of what Rioli has to deal with consistently, such as racist online abuse.

“I think the challenge that has happened over the last 24 hours specifically is a whole host of people across the industry talking about Willie Rioli without having an understanding of the cultural significance to Willie of different things that happen,” he said.

“And I have found that quite confronting over the last little bit seeing a whole heap of people who I think don’t have the necessary depth of understanding what Willie goes through regularly and having their own judgments before understanding maybe some of the things that sit beneath what Willie deals with.

“People should spend some time educating themselves on some of the things that sit behind what Willie deals with.

“That is an ongoing thing that Willie has to deal with and has to deal with better at points in time but that doesn’t dismiss that these things are constantly happening to him.”

Rioli and Brad Close in 2024. Picture: Fox Footy

Rioli trained on Wednesday night and Davies said it was a “fair question” to ask if the Power were concerned about his long-term wellbeing and future in the game because of what had happened to other players in the past but he was just focusing on working through the AFL’s investigation.

Port Adelaide chairman David Koch said the club was “incredibly angry” with Rioli over his behaviour.

“We’ve spoken to Willie about it … he is contrite and sent a message to the player involved but you can’t link on field and off field comments, otherwise it will lead to places where people don’t want to go,” Koch said on FIVEAA.

But he said it was a complex situation, insisting Rioli and the club’s Indigenous players received a stream of racial abuse, especially on social media, off the field.

“I think you have to look at the bigger picture as well,” Koch said. “You have absolutely no idea of what they go through.

“Off field … the threats we receive at the club against our Indigenous players would just horrify you. We see a responsibility to protect them in that situation as well.

“Off field and in social media is totally different and that’s why we are really angry with Willie and what he did. And there is absolutely no excuse (for) that.”