MELBOURNE – A leaked report has condemned a “toxic” culture of systemic racism at the Collingwood Australian Rules football club, one of the country’s largest sporting organisations, reports said Monday.
Collingwood commissioned the independent probe by Aboriginal academic Larissa Behrendt last year after former player Heritier Lumumba alleged he faced discrimination while at the club, including being nicknamed “chimp”.
Behrendt found there was a long history of racist incidents involving the Melbourne-based side which had not been addressed by its leadership.
“What is clear is that racism at the club has resulted in profound and enduring harm to First Nations and African players,” Behrendt wrote, according to multiple…
