The Collingwood Football Club acknowledges it has been 30 years since Nicky Winmar lifted his jumper to say ‘I’m black and I'm proud’ after he and teammate Gilbert McAdam were racially abused at Victoria Park.
Collingwood will play against St Kilda this afternoon and both Clubs, together with the AFL, have worked together to ensure a respectful pre-game acknowledgement of the moment which took place on April 17, 1993.
Today, at Collingwood, we do not shy away from ensuring that racism is addressed when we see it or hear it.
The Collingwood Football Club understands that racism is harmful and has no place in our game and apologises to Nicky Winmar and to Gilbert McAdam for the hurt they experienced playing football.
It takes courage to stand against racism and when First Nations people do so, it is our opportunity – all Australians – to listen, learn and change for the better.
Collingwood also apologises for the appalling comments made by its most senior official in the days following that game.
To go back and reflect on where we got things wrong is important to us and we will continue to listen and learn as we progress our Club.
In 2020, the Club commissioned the Jumbunna Institute to conduct an independent review which resulted in the Do Better Report, challenging Collingwood to take action to confront racism. The Report concluded with 18 recommendations which the Club adopted and has since implemented.
In March last year, the Club shared the 12-month review of the work arising from the Do Better Report which noted that Collingwood had made ‘significant and genuine progress’.
To be clear, we at Collingwood remain on a journey – we believe that real and lasting cultural change takes time, dedication and persistence.
We also believe there is no finishing line when it comes to eliminating racism.
Collingwood is incredibly fortunate to have many proud First Nations people who make up our Club across all levels – as players, coaches, staff and on our Board. We thank our First Nations brothers and sisters who continue to share their culture and experiences to make our Club better.
In recent weeks we have seen too many First Nations players racially vilified. There is still work to do.
Racism is never ok – it wasn’t then, and it isn’t now.
To Nicky Winmar, to Gilbert McAdam, and to their families, we say sorry.
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Ngarra Jarra Noun: Healing Ceremony
The Indigenous Sports Network have organised a Healing Ceremony to acknowledge 30 years since Nicky Winmar made a stand against racism. The event will take place from 6pm – 8pm on Tuesday, April 18 at Victoria Park with all members of the community welcome to attend.
