Ex-Collingwood champion Leon Davis admits he was nervous about taking up a job with the Magpies resulting from some earlier “not so great” experiences.
But the previous electrical ahead believes the AFL powerhouse is now a welcoming and inclusive membership for Indigenous individuals.
Davis and former Collingwood teammates Andrew Krakouer and Heritier Lumumba fell out with the Magpies final yr, declaring “nothing has changed” following the 2021 Do Better report into allegations of racism.
Having made peace with the membership, Davis is now employed in helping the Magpies of their try and construct a culturally protected surroundings, with Krakouer becoming a member of him on a part-time foundation.
“I’ve had a lot of great experiences at this club. There were some times that weren’t so great,” Davis stated on Wednesday.
“Coming back and sort of not knowing what I was walking back into, as much as I could prepare myself, probably wasn’t going to be enough until I got here and was back day-to-day.
“To be on this journey, and all be collectively, side-by-side, and all desirous to do higher, it has been unbelievable.
“It makes First Nations people’s jobs a lot easier to not do all the work and have that support from non-First Nations people at the club.”
Collingwood have taken main steps to try to heal the injuries of the previous, in April this yr formally apologising to the St Kilda champion Nicky Winmar and his teammate Gilbert McAdam for the appalling abuse directed at them at Victoria Park in 1993.
Davis stood alongside former teammate Steele Sidebottom on Wednesday, forward of the midfielder’s three hundredth sport for Collingwood.
Sidebottom will turn out to be simply the fourth Magpies participant to succeed in the milestone when he runs out in opposition to North Melbourne on Sunday.
The pair developed an instantaneous bond when Sidebottom arrived on the membership through the 2008 draft, staying shut even after Davis retired on the finish of 2011.
Sidebottom stated he had witnessed main adjustments off-field throughout 15 years at Collingwood, and cherished his friendship with Davis.
“I’d love to be able to sit down with someone that doesn’t know about Leon’s culture and be able to give them a story on where he came from and the way he grew up,” Sidebottom stated.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
