News Review into racism at Collingwood

[76woodenspooners]

Ed actually had the gall to deny that was a reference to him.

Maybe it wasn’t a reference to him?

Sure, Ed is a face of the club through the media, but it’s reasonable to assume that rank and file people within the club would have very little contact with him.

 

[AndrewShawble]

I've wanted McGuire out for years.

I just want it to be member-led, rather than media-led.

It was never going to be member led, it was always going to take a number of f’ups piling up.

Now we are here

 

[TKiL]

Harry is a flog, I hope he’s never welcomed backed to the club again. If this details our season then everyone can get farmed!
What a disgrace, I’ve been part of these reviews...’the victim’ gets to make outlandish statements, the accused has to provide evidence to defend the claims. Obviously in these situations it’s hard to provide evidence so we were always going to be tarnished.
I’ve no doubt that by today’s standard inappropriate things were said, but that was the norm back then. Doesn’t mean people are racist it means they are politically incorrect...play on and **** off Harry you piece of sht

perhaps you mean "derails our season". But carry on.

 

[Cyclops]

They thought they were defending the club but they were defending racism. Ed has to go now.

He's done a lot of good but suppressing this was wrong, and he should have really tackled the problem years ago not hidden it.

 

[domus]

Page 26

the Club should consider a reparative justice model, where the goal is not bringing an end to public declarations of racism or exonerating the Club of it, but airing it, acknowledging it and making material gestures to righting and healing the harm that occurred. This includes proactively making amends that could include, but aren’t limited to: reparations, compensation, public apology, and commitments to reform.

There should be nowhere to hide for the troglodytes that have brought us to this point – I cant see how any of the current Board can remain. McGuire, if he were a decent human being, should have resigned today, or at the AGM at the latest.

What compensation are you talking about? Mean nicknames? Laughing at jokes the litigant found offensive? Seriously, once you go into those treacherous waters there is no turning back. If you are talking about failure to honour a contract, paying someone less than they were promised, refusing to select a player because of his race, threatening or abusing a player based upon his race then you would have a point. How many ex players would be rushing to court for compensation over their alleged mistreatment, unfair sacking, abuse from a coach or any other grievance if we started compensating players for hurt feelings?

 

[domus]

I've wanted McGuire out for years.

I just want it to be member-led, rather than media-led.

So have I, but not because I think he is a racist or a misogynist.

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

Jackson didn't have to go along with the loathsome George Harris's idea (if indeed it was his idea). Why do you write as if Jackson is a child or someone lacking autonomy? For him to knowingly accuse an innocent man of racism (an every day occurrence in 2021) was disgraceful and in my book unforgiveable, regardless of how many others may have genuinely abused him. I believe Adamson was a teacher at the time. Imagine the damage that accusation did to his reputation.

I spoke at length to Syd Jackson about this incident. I think you need to understand that aborigines were in a very difficult situation in those earlier years in the football environment, subject to a lot of racial abuse, few in number, and without the support systems available now within the club. Who was Syd Jackson to say 'no' to the Carlton president when told he had to accuse Adamson of racial abuse in order to get off the striking charge and play in the GF! Syd was the one to fess up with the truth 10 years later and he apologised to Lee Adamson shortly after. I found him to be a decent person, very down to earth and sincere. He knew he had made a big mistake, but he was only a small black pawn in a white man's environment and bowed to the powers that be in the club when asked to lie. Adamson (yes, a secondary teacher) was able to forgive him, so perhaps you should be able to do so too.

 

[PonsfordMagpie]

So have I, but not because I think he is a racist or a misogynist.

Same.

 

[Doc1763]

What compensation are you talking about? Mean nicknames? Laughing at jokes the litigant found offensive? Seriously, once you go into those treacherous waters there is no turning back. If you are talking about failure to honour a contract, paying someone less than they were promised, refusing to select a player because of his race, threatening or abusing a player based upon his race then you would have a point. How many ex players would be rushing to court for compensation over their alleged mistreatment, unfair sacking, abuse from a coach or any other grievance if we started compensating players for hurt feelings?

That is from the Report - they are recommending reparations, compensation, public apology, and commitments to reform.

Have you read it?

 

[jmac70]

What compensation are you talking about? Mean nicknames? Laughing at jokes the litigant found offensive? Seriously, once you go into those treacherous waters there is no turning back. If you are talking about failure to honour a contract, paying someone less than they were promised, refusing to select a player because of his race, threatening or abusing a player based upon his race then you would have a point. How many ex players would be rushing to court for compensation over their alleged mistreatment, unfair sacking, abuse from a coach or any other grievance if we started compensating players for hurt feelings?

The club has accepted the recommendations. Why can't you?

 

[Pies_10]

Ok so the report found what it found, now what?
What's the point/endgame of the whole thing?
Just to point it out or get people fired

 

[Quicky]

A proud day for the club Ed? Have you lost the ****ing plot or what mate? I'm not proud of the club today!

 

[lyfsux]

bit of an overstatement. More likely the president is gaffe-prone with average IQ, not overly analytical, unable to form succinct responses and quite likely to make a bad situation worse.

IMO Eddie is not a racist - but he's very blokey and would fit well in a pub in the 1960s.

80's and 90's as well when I use to drink in them

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

Would the report have been commissioned without Hertier’s allegations?

No it wouldn't have been but that doesn't mean that his claims and accusations are true.

 

[lyfsux]

Ok so the report found what it found, now what?
What's the point/endgame of the whole thing?
Just to point it out or get people fired

Going by some people on here the club is going to collapse if Eddie and the board aren't gone

Maybe they should do a NFL (America) and invoke the Rooney Rule to appease everybody seeing the report
said to appoint indigenous coaches

 

[Go Woods]

Would the report have been commissioned without Hertier’s allegations?

Good point, maybe/maybe not, but the other 17 clubs might want to consider a similar exercise....Collingwood not the only club with racism issues surely!

 

[domus]

I spoke at length to Syd Jackson about this incident. I think you need to understand that aborigines were in a very difficult situation in those earlier years in the football environment, subject to a lot of racial abuse, few in number, and without the support systems available now within the club. Who was Syd Jackson to say 'no' to the Carlton president when told he had to accuse Adamson of racial abuse in order to get off the striking charge and play in the GF! Syd was the one to fess up with the truth 10 years later and he apologised to Lee Adamson shortly after. I found him to be a decent person, very down to earth and sincere. He knew he had made a big mistake, but he was only a small black pawn in a white man's environment and bowed to the powers that be in the club when asked to lie. Adamson (yes, a secondary teacher) was able to forgive him, so perhaps you should be able to do so too.

I don't doubt Syd is a good bloke, but we differ on the subject of accountability. You seem to be applying a different set of rules because Syd was indigenous, whereas I respect each man as an individual and no matter how difficult a situation might be, he ultimately has the power to decide what he will and won't say or do. The old saying, "would you jump off the cliff if he told you to or murder your next door neighbour?" comes to mind.

Syd clearly knew it was a terrible thing to do, otherwise he would never have raised the matter a decade later. I don't believe Syd would have faced any sanction from his club had he told the truth. I think the answer is less complex. Like every footballer, he wanted to grab the opportunity to be a premiership player and was willing to use any ploy in order to make that happen. He wasn't the first to lie and he won't be the last but I think making excuses for him fits under the umbrella of the racism of low expectations. ( I know you have zero intention of this).

I think he was a brilliant footballer, those drop kicks were poetry in motion.

 

[Carringbush2010]

And make no mistake, a small minority of supporters of our Club stand guilty of racism

EFA, it's important to be clear of what you actually mean, I would hope you don't broad brush every single pie fan as guilty of racism. That would be defamatory.

This drama will be forgotten pretty quickly as the AFL moves on to its next issue.

Oh really?! MSM has taken this review as a question to the PM in a national press club address. The PM! wouldn't be surprised if this makes news off shore

He has helped build a powerful brand and he must ensure that brand endures

He's also very badly damaged the very brand he is seemingly trying to protect through his gaffes.

FMD, it looks like the club is in emergency damage control, IF Ed stays on, it will appear that any repair of that damage eloquently put across from Sizer, Murphy and Anderson is disingenuous.

There is no room to move, Ed needs to step down.

 

[domus]

That is from the Report - they are recommending reparations, compensation, public apology, and commitments to reform.

Have you read it?

And I'm asking-for what?

 

[domus]

The club has accepted the recommendations. Why can't you?

I think for myself.

 

[bingers]

Page 26

the Club should consider a reparative justice model, where the goal is not bringing an end to public declarations of racism or exonerating the Club of it, but airing it, acknowledging it and making material gestures to righting and healing the harm that occurred. This includes proactively making amends that could include, but aren’t limited to: reparations, compensation, public apology, and commitments to reform.

There should be nowhere to hide for the troglodytes that have brought us to this point – I cant see how any of the current Board can remain. McGuire, if he were a decent human being, should have resigned today, or at the AGM at the latest.

______________________________________________________________


Don't hold your breath.


Hmm ... " ... if he were a decent human being ..."

 

[jmac70]

I think for myself.

You don't accept the evidence?

 

[PonsfordMagpie]

Am I the only one who's got reservations about this report?
It's extremely short on specifics, listing only a handful of historical episodes, some of which are about fan behaviour, which is pretty hard to blame the club for in any case. It makes no attempt to quantify or list instances of the sort of behaviour within the club that is assessed to have been racist over a relevant timeframe. I think the report's failure to do that is worrying. It leaves the reader unsure how big/widespread the problem actually is.
Similarly, there is no substantiation for generalised statements about the culture -- eg. that when complaints are made they are not dealt with properly, or that if they are dealt with it's only for media management.
If I'm writing a report that talks about "systemic" behaviour I will make damn sure to justify my use of that language by giving numbers, categories or timeframes, and in fact examples of the types of incidents that are ongoing, so the size of the problem and the nature of the behaviours can be properly understood.
Based on what is actually in this report it would seem most accurate to conclude that Collingwood used to have a problem with racism, but in recent years has largely left that behind by undertaking a number of initiatives to reach out to indigenous communities, with positive effect. I don't see that the little detail contained in it justifies the trope that Collingwood is a racist club now, let alone the sensationalist media reporting (and social media commentary) that is certain to flow from the release of the report.
Given these reservations it also seems hard to justify the highly bureaucratic response that the report calls for. Yes, policies should be up to date and there should be an implementation plan and monitoring; but the report proposes an elaborate matrix of measures that doesn't seem required to deal with a problem that hasn't been properly set out.

The report is vague, or only going over old ground. There's nothing groundbreaking and specific about it.

Phrases such as "systemic racism" are just fancy words, but lack any real meaning or substance. I guess this is all part of the redefinition of racism where it no longer covers just blatant or overt racism, but we now delve into phrases such as "systemic racism" or "unconscious bias" which are ill-defined terms but cast a stain over the whole club nevertheless.

My biggest worry is we're regressing back into a racialised world rather than a post-racial world.

If the club starts heading down a path of identity politics by seeking to fulfill diversity quotas and overcompensating for the past, then I'd stop renewing my membership in a heartbeat. Being on the bottom for a decade wouldn't deter me, but this would.

The authors also make me skeptical. Both of them are academics with a preconceived worldview where everything is seen through a racial lens. The outcome of the report was only going to lead to one conclusion once I saw their credentials.

 

[Chrispiesssss]

Wow, I thought I was reading the GameOn thread such is the nonsense being written.

Have I got this right? A couple of supporters are cancelling their memberships because a report that we commissioned, was leaked before we were ready to release it. Ok then, see ya later.

My take after watching the whole press conference was: the Club is totally determined to look forward, whilst acknowledging mistakes in the past, and put in place strategies, policies and committees to ensure that all stakeholders within and without have a voice and a place to go to have issues safely and respectfully heard.

As Eddie said in response to various questions we couldn't hear, we want to get this right going forward. We want to lead. Ed also said that Collingwood had already implemented (over the past six years) support for many groups within the Collingwood community, including indigenous ones.

Eddie admitted the Club had made mistakes. I'm not sure how many times he has to apologise for his Adam Goodes comments before people can move on. How long will you keep slagging him Dave and Chrispiesss?

I've been guilty in the past of telling racist jokes and of being a sexist buffoon. We learn and move on.

I thought everybody spoke well today. Jodie Sizer was very impressive. I guess 90% of the questions were directed at Eddie, and given some of his gaffes of recent years, it was inevitable a few would try for a gotcha moment. At one stage I thought I'd gone into the time machine and was watching Daniel Andrews trying to answer questions from Sophie, Peta and co.

It sounds and looks as if the Club is now on the front foot and will move to be a leader in race matters. I'm thankful for this. And yes, dare I say it, I was proud of my club today for standing up and doing the right thing.

“Proud” & “racism” should never be uttered in the same sentence. End of the day you want to be an Eddie lover go ahead.

However, Eddie has been the Center figure for AFL & racism over the last decade.

He should not be a president.

Funny you mention Dan Andrew’s, a lot of people asked for his head post 1st muck up. He did better on his 2nd go.

How many tries has the 22 year reigning president get? Let me guess, a million “cOZ hE HElPeD uS wHeN wE wERE A sTRuGglIng club” in the 90’s.

It’s 2021 move with the times.... or am I not allowed to have an opinion that goes against our lord and saviour Eddie McGuire?

 

[TradeDraft]

“Proud” & “racism” should never be uttered in the same sentence. End of the day you want to be an Eddie lover go ahead.

However, Eddie has been the Center figure for AFL & racism over the last decade.

He should not be a president.

Funny you mention Dan Andrew’s, a lot of people asked for his head post 1st muck up. He did better on his 2nd go.

How many tries has the 22 year reigning president get? Let me guess, a million “cOZ hE HElPeD uS wHeN wE wERE A sTRuGglIng club” in the 90’s.

It’s 2021 move with the times.... or am I not allowed to have an opinion that goes against our lord and saviour Eddie McGuire?

That what the Eddie Cult Says he saved the Club and you are right that was 15-20 Bloody Years ago