The St Kilda fan who racially abused Western Bulldog younger gun Jamarra Ugle-Hagan shall be discovered and banned from the sport by the membership as chief govt Simon Lethlean lamented the unhappiness of the scenario practically 30 years after membership legend Nicky Winmar’s historic stance.
Ugle-Hagan was given Monday away from the membership after being impacted by the feedback, allegedly from a St Kilda fan, which have been first referred to as out on social media and labelled “horrific”.
They are being investigated by the AFL integrity unit as it really works with St Kilda to determine the fan concerned.
On Monday, Lethlean stated if the fan was a Saints member, “absolutely” their membership could be cancelled as he identified the thirtieth anniversary of membership legend Winmar’s stance was quick approaching and the way inappropriate it was to nonetheless should cope with such incidents.
In 1993, Winmar raised his Saints jumper and pointed to his chest in response to racist feedback from Collingwood followers hurled at him relentlessly throughout a match at Victoria Park, a second that continues to be poignant within the AFL’s ongoing battle towards racism.
“It‘s 30 years and two weeks since Nicky Winmar made (his) statement … to still be dealing with stuff like this now is completely inappropriate,” Lethlean stated on Monday.
“We all despair if a player of any background can‘t feel safe in their workplace and people in the crowd think it’s OK to say those things.
“We encourage all fans to call out this behaviour, to stop it, to teach your kids what is right.
“Nicky did what he did because he didn’t feel safe and feel respected. It’s still happening.
“All we can do is call it out, educate, support our people and hope that it stops.”
Lethlean stated training was as vital as punishment however that may come ought to the fan be recognized.
“We will do all in our power to find out who that was in the crowd,” he stated,
“The allegations of what was said was totally inappropriate. If we can find who it was, they are not welcome at our games.
“I’m not sure what the ban will be, but they are certainly not welcome at our games. We want to find them, speak to them, educate them, they are not coming back to St Kilda games anytime soon.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
