Slurs directed at St Kilda’s Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Port Adelaide’s Jase Burgoyne investigated
‘Absolutely disgusting’: AFL investigating racist comments directed at two players
The AFL’s integrity unit is investigating racist comments directed at St Kilda’s Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Port Adelaide’s Jase Burgoyne on social media at the weekend.
The players, both First Nations men, were subjected to comments described by the league as “abhorrent” from anonymous social media accounts.
St Kilda’s Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera was the subject of racist abuse online after playing at the weekend.Credit: Getty Images
They have been offered support from their clubs and the league, while the AFL tries to identify the culprits, who would likely be banned from attending AFL matches.
A statement from the league on Monday said, “there is absolutely no place for racism in our game and fans who are found to be responsible are not welcome at the football”.
CEO Andrew Dillon said hiding behind a fake account was “cowardly”.
“I want the people that have created these online accounts and racially abused our players to know that our game does not want you,” AFL chief executive officer Andrew Dillon added.
“Real fans don’t racially abuse players.”
Jase Burgoyne flies for the ball against West Coast on Sunday.Credit: Getty Images
On Monday afternoon, Carlton vice-captain Jacob Weitering expressed his support for the duo and said it was disappointing to see abuse happen.
“There seems to be a constant theme that when players aren’t performing, coaches aren’t performing, teams aren’t performing, that people feel the need to voice their opinions in a harsh and radical way,” he said.
Weitering said the suggestion of limiting player’s social media consumption opens up “a can of worms”.
“There’s certainly more questions than answers, and players and clubs will deal with it in different ways, but for us, we’ve got to worry about the people within our four walls and making sure that everyone’s OK,” he said.
In their statement, Port Adelaide said social media platforms needed to take greater responsibility for allowing abusive comments into a public forum.
“We also encourage people who witness or experience online abuse to report and highlight it to the social media platforms on which it appears,” the Power said in its statement.
“Port Adelaide also calls for governments to demand accountability from social media organisations. Platforms need to take accountability and action against these abusers.”
Port skipper Connor Rozee also expressed his support to the players in an interview on Channel Seven, describing the comments directed at Burgoyne as “absolutely disgusting”.
“I don’t know how many times we have to see this before people understand it’s absolutely not OK,” he said.
“I’d love to see us find a way to point those people out and make sure they’re not hiding behind screens.”
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The racist abuse was directed at the players following their respective matches at the weekend.
St Kilda CEO Carl Dilena released a statement on Monday, expressing the club’s support for Wanganeen-Milera, a Kokatha and Narangga man.
“As a club we do not accept racist behaviour of any kind. These comments are abhorrent and have no place in our game or our community,” Dilena said.
The AFL said it had an agreement with the eSafety Commissioner to address racism when it occurs.
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