COLLINGWOOD FANS CARE RESOLVE THEIR PETITION

December, 2023

Collingwood Fans Care was inspired by history's largest social protest, following the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. We are a group of lifelong Collingwood fans who realised that there was work to be done in our own lives; we knew the football club that we loved had a history of racism, and could no longer stay silent. Long expected to stand by the Club, no matter what, via a twisted interpretation of the motto Side By Side, we decided instead to speak out.

A month or so later, Premiership player Héritier Lumumba publicly recounted his experience of racism at Collingwood. He did this despite a media and broader football community that would surely coalesce, to deny, obfuscate and attack. But that is the power of bravery.  A former hero on the field had once again seized the moment, standing on the moral shoulders of those that had come before him — Winmar, McAdam, Long, Goodes and more — not to mention the many who suffered in silence.

Collingwood Fans Care published its petition and sent a detailed letter to the Collingwood Football Club board, on July 20, 2020, demanding change.  It was ignored by the Club at the time, garnered a few hundred signatures, and a lot of “why bothers?”  Little did we know what was soon to come.

On February 1, 2021, the Do Better Report was leaked to the media. The similarities between our letter and the report’s findings were unmistakable. The truth was there for anyone to see. As the only supporter group speaking to these issues, the petition suddenly began to get media coverage, and the support swelled to over 15,000 signatures fairly quickly. Yet Do Better and supporter signatures were not a resolution, there had to be real change.

In the wake of the report, the Club President of over two decades resigned and Djab Wurrung, Gunditjmara woman Jodie Sizer stepped in as interim Co-Chair. A few months later, the coach of a decade also resigned. This opened the door for a whole new regime and approach at Collingwood, starting with football. On September 1, 2021 we learned that Craig McRae would be the new coach, and we felt hope when GM of Football Graham Wright said:

 “We set out to appoint a team of coaches who complemented each other, a group of diverse football thinkers and relationship builders who have also shared in a lot of success that could mould our young squad.”

We kept the petition unresolved because we needed to see consistent action throughout the organisation, not just words.

Things started looking up when we saw Indigenous people returning to the Club, with names such as Neville Jetta, Leon Davis and Andrew Krakoeur appearing. We also started to see a change of tone in the way the Club handled Indigenous relations and concepts of basic decency. Indigenous players were in the black and white again, too. Amongst them proud Gija, Jaru, Bunuba man Ash Johnson, who joined the club for the 2022 season, and made an instant impact. Then in October, 2022 we saw the recruitment of proud Whadjuk-Ballardong Noongar man Bobby Hill.

Midway through the 2023 season, on the 30th anniversary of Nicky Winmar’s famous response to racist abuse on the field at Victoria Park, Collingwood supporters, community members and retired players, including Winmar, took part in a moving smoking ceremony. It was the first official recognition of the continuing, dark resonance of that day’s events, and the importance of Winmar’s stance.

On September 30, 2023, Bobby Hill played the game of his life for Collingwood and held the Premiership trophy over his head, while wearing the Norm Smith Medal.  He hugged Captain Darcy Moore, who was one of the few players who spoke to the media in support of players of colour during the Do Better media frenzy. And Craig McRae, who’s leadership had brought Indigenous voices back to our Club. The sense of healing and much needed progress at Collingwood was palpable.

A few days later in a thread of “Tweets”, Lumumba let us know that: “In my first deep dive since retirement, I consumed EVERYTHING leading up to the game. I was deeply immersed again.” Going on to recount a lot of the positive change we have seen.

It is with this background in mind that we now resolve our petition. This does not suggest that the work is complete. We have lifetimes of healing to repair all the harm and pain, and will always remember our history, in the hopes we may never repeat it. But we have seen enough change to conclude that this particular horror chapter has come to an end, and the Club is led by people who have the right values.

Thank you to every person who joined us on this often difficult journey and signed the petition. We know that to challenge a football club in Melbourne - especially Collingwood - is considered out of the ordinary, even a betrayal. But looking back, if we’ve learned anything, it is to never fear challenging something you love to try to make it better.   

Congratulations to the Club and fellow loyal supporters, and as Darcy Moore said in his Premiership speech, the past players.  Particularly those who stood up to what is wrong, and helped put our Club back on top, in more ways than one.