Port Adelaide was advised by the AFL this afternoon that it would impose a one-match sanction on Willie Rioli.
Willie sent a Western Bulldogs player a threatening message directed at teammate Bailey Dale following last Saturday’s game at Ballarat.
Willie apologised to Dale on Monday for sending the message and for any distress it caused to him and his family.
The AFL then advised that two other incidents of on-field threats by Willie Rioli were brought to its attention and investigated. Given the cumulative nature of these incidents the AFL revisited its earlier decision, and determined to impose the sanction.
Earlier today, the club issued a statement on Willie’s behalf where he apologised again to Dale and accepted his actions were “totally unacceptable”.
Port Adelaide and Willie accept the one-game sanction imposed by the AFL, noting the seriousness of the message sent following last Saturday afternoon’s game, and will participate in the education prescribed by the AFL
The club notes the AFL’s want for greater transparency regarding on and off field incidents.
So, with this in mind and on the eve of Sir Doug Nicholls Round, the Port Adelaide Football Club would like to again put on the public record that it believes the AFL industry can do more to seek to understand the daily challenges that our First Nations and Multicultural players and staff live with on a daily basis.
Willie, like many of our First Nations and Multicultural players, has endured racist abuse both directly and casually throughout his career – not as exceptional incidents, but as a persistent, ongoing reality.
On field comments that may not seem racial on the surface, can be interpreted as racist to a First Nations or Multicultural person who has endured systematic racist comments since they were young enough to recall.
Three weeks ago, Port Adelaide wrote to the AFL about the way in which racist incidents have been portrayed publicly. The club has been concerned that the narrative constructed by some has suggested that Willie, or other players in the past, have somehow provoked these racist responses, which is deeply problematic for the following reasons:
- It normalises racism as an expected consequence of First Nations and Multicultural players' visibility and self-expression
- It diminishes the responsibility of those who engage in racist behaviour; and
- It fails to acknowledge the persistent, systemic nature of racism that First Nations and Multicultural players face regardless of their actions
Our First Nations and Multicultural players repeatedly tell us that these are not isolated incidents.
The racism they experience is constant, has occurred casually on the field, from the stands, on social media, and sadly in our view, in how these incidents are reported.
By framing racist abuse as reactive rather than endemic, we are contributing to a narrative that undermines the AFL's stated commitment to eliminating racism from our game.
