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Report finds Collingwood guilty of systemic racism

The secret 35-page report calls on the club to address several key issues.

Published by
Mitch Keating

A secret 35-page report has found there to be "systemic racism within the Collingwood Football Club", addressing several issues within the culture of the club, per The Herald Sun

The report was conducted by professors Larissa Behrendt and Lindon Coombes following 30 interviews, with the review following claims made by former defender Heritier Lumumba.

It is reported that Lumumba did not wish to take part in the process for the report, with his claims not taken into the review.

The report read that Collingwood's response to the several incidents were "at best ineffective, or at worst exacerbated the impact”.

“There is a gap between what Collingwood Football Club says it stands for and what it does.

“While claims of racism have been made across the AFL, there is something ­distinct and egregious about Collingwood's history.

“There is a culture of individuals, if not quite being bigger than the club, then at least having an unhealthy ­degree of influence over club culture.”

The review found a link between racism within the AFL and past incidents involving the Collingwood Football Club.

“Collingwood has become synonymous with off-field and on-field racism in Australian sport," the report says.

“As one person we spoke to said: ‘If you look at every high-profile incident of racism in the game, Collingwood is there somewhere'.”

The club received the "Do Better" report in mid-December and have appointed a First Nations person to their board.

Published by
Mitch Keating