Collingwood says former players Leon Davis and Andrew Krakouer have returned to the AFL club just three months after the pair broke ties with the Magpies for not tackling a litany of racist incidents during their playing days.
Key points:
- Davis, Krakouer and Heritier Lumumba ended communications with the club, saying the Magpies had no intention of confronting racism.
- Krakouer and Davis have now been hired by Collingwood “to better inform the club’s ongoing cultural change”
- A “tell the truth” process was a recommendation of the Do Better report on racism issues at the club
In April, former teammate Heritier Lumumba said he, Davis and Krakouer ended communications with Collingwood because the club had no intention of acting in “good faith” to deal with the racism that experienced the players at the club.
But in a statement, the Magpies announced that Davis and Krakouer have been hired by the club.
“Leon and Andrew recently shared their experiences of racism with club board representatives with the two former Collingwood players committed to participating in the club’s truth program, a process to better understand their experiences and impacts that racism has had in their lives, to better inform the club ‘s ongoing cultural change, “the statement said.
“Leon has been employed by the club full time to collaborate with his commitment to creating a culturally safe environment for all staff and players, and Andrew will be employed to help.”
Last year, Collingwood accepted a series of recommendations from an independent review known as the “Do Better” report, which promised to address and reconcile past acts of racism.
The report found the organization guilty of “distinct and flagrant” systemic racism and called for profound structural change.
The so-called “statement of truth” process or reconciliation process, which began earlier this year, is one of the report’s recommendations.
Davis said he shared his experiences of racism as a player.
Davis played more than 200 games during his decade with the Magpies. (Images of Getty: Quinn Rooney)
“Unfortunately, these cases were not my first, as I have experienced racism from a very young age,” Davis said in the statement.
“So have my family members and listening to my father’s racism stories and what he went through is something that drives me to make changes and make sure we all do better.”
“This is a community issue, a national issue and ultimately a global issue and we need to do better to stop racism.
“I am happy to have a role where I am now encouraged to implement and drive cultural change and I know I have the full support of everyone at the club to do so.”
Krakouer said he echoed Davis’ words and felt he had a role to play in educating the community to eliminate racism.
“I want my children to grow up in an environment where there are no barriers to success,” Krakouer said.
“I want my community to be strong and proud and I want the game of Australian football, the game I love, to be welcoming to First Nations people at all times, on and off the pitch and in the stands.
“I want us to keep striving to be better.”
Recruited in 1999, Davis scored 270 goals over a brilliant 225-game career that included two Australian jumpers.
The immensely talented Krakouer was selected a year later, in 2000, and played 137 games with Richmond and Collingwood, scoring 152 goals.
In May, Lumumba renewed criticism of his former club, accusing Collingwood of being dishonest in his handling of racism.
The 35-year-old posted part of a recording of a 2014 conversation with Nathan Buckley, in which the former coach accused Lumumba of throwing then-President Eddie McGuire “under the bus” when he criticized the racist comments about indigenous champion Adam Goodes.
Posted 1 h ago 1 hour Monday 11 July 2022 at 06:44, updated 1 h Mon. July 11, 2022 at 6:56 p.m.