"Do Better" review made public

[K]

[Mr Miyagi]

Yeah I was actually batting for Caro for a change and embarrassed by Eddie.

[sherrife]

[Hiss]

Everyone should be proud of their heritage and race. And we should all feel pride in people wanting to be proud of where they came from. Don’t let any racist scum tell you otherwise. And always remember that the media love division and conflict amongst us. They make their money out of it.

[Magpie Russ]

[scoobydoo]

[Lazza]

[Piesnchess]

WE were the ONLY Club silly enough, and stupid enough to do that DO BETTER review, that basically de railed our whole season, NO other club was dumb enough but us, and dont tell me they all dont have racist history in their closets, just look at the Crows, now, and many other teams too. All that hoo hah with Harry O, all that didnt help, i notice hes gone very quiet now, cant whinge anymore because Eddie and Bucks have both gone, doubt if we will hear from him again, in a hurry. At the time, it came out, the AFL thought the other clubs would do a review too, but none did, so there you go, we got shat on yet again, by the media, how bloody typical. !

[thesoretoothsayer]

Important reminder from the club that racism is bad.
Thanks CFC. I'd be lost without your moral leadership.

https://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/news/998831/committed-to-the-fight-against-racism

[SwansWay]

I think what Eddie and Ross were getting at is in these situations (whom no one in their right mind would excuse or condone) if the party at fault has genuine compunction; that there must be some path towards redemption. Consequences? Absolutely! Blotted from polite society and forced into the wilderness forever? That seems to be the place we've arrived at as a collective in the internet age. I believe what makes us humans great is the capacity to allow room for people to expiate and redeem, if the offense isn't so beyond the pale that it makes forgiveness and a second chance an impossibility.

I didn't take issue with his video. To me there are no hard and fast rules for how this incident ought to have been handled in the aftermath. Tex seemed genuinely sorry to me but I'm no body language expert. He will be ostracized and walk with his head down for a while and I guess every member in the court of public opinion will have their own views about what the correct punishment may be. I'm no juror so I honestly don't know what is appropriate.

[Mr Miyagi]

^ Agree, everyone gets a second chance if they’re sincere about it. But geez that filmed apology felt forced. There were issues years ago with Walker and Betts from what I recall, casual racism jokes etc. Betts was led to believe everyone had learned from it. After ***everything*** with Collingwood the past year you’d think other players would have wised up and looked in the mirror. But nope.

[CarringbushCigar]

[Piesnchess]

[K]

Caro:

Crows left to pick up the pieces of another damaging scandal

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/crows-left-to-pick-up-the-pieces-of-another-damaging-scandal-20210812-p58i7e.html


Baum:

Racism and the lesson that is never learnt

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/racism-and-the-lesson-that-is-never-learned-20210813-p58ils.html

[PyreneesPie]

Thanks K for the links to those two articles.

They both highlight (especially Baum's) how unfathomable it is that incidents like that of Taylor Walker still occur, after all these years of so called "education" of AFL footballers.

I think Eddie Betts was so right in that indigenous figures like himself can explain their hurt and devastation for as long as the cows come home, but permanent change will only ever really happen when racism is discussed and examined at the grass roots level, in the homes, work places and social venues of ordinary folk. After all, this is where racist attitudes originate and where they need to be confronted.

All the different sporting codes are in powerful positions to reach into the everyday lives and loungerooms of the people who follow them. It could be made mandatory that each major code establish and promote anti-racism messaging to reach their supporters and participants through all the means available to it. This messaging could be delivered through all the levels of each sport, from children's competitions, to social competitions and clubs, as well as the professional organisations.

It's time to get seriously proactive, on a huge, all encompassing scale. Education programs provided to the already sporting elite are obviously not cutting it. Anti-racist messaging needs to be present at a much earlier age and at grass roots levels, which is where the attitudes of those eventually elite sports people are formed.