ESSENDON champion and proud indigenous Australian Michael Long says people will always make mistakes, but he is incredibly proud of how far the football community has come in stamping out racism.
Isolated racism incidents within AFL crowds have continued to make headlines this year but Long said the majority of the community was now “socially aware” on the issue and were rightly calling out offenders.
“We’ve had incidents in the grandstands but people have put their hand up and said, ‘That’s not acceptable, security guard’,” Long said.
“It would be great if we all lived in a perfect world but we don’t.”
DREAMTIME: HUGE CROWD SET FOR ‘WAR OF THE SASH’
As the Bombers and Richmond prepare to do battle in the 13th instalment of the Dreamtime at the ‘G game on Saturday night, Long said the blockbuster game had been a huge driver of change on the subject and had undoubtedly made a difference in more ways than one.
“The game’s led the way in a lot of ways in terms of changing what’s happened on our field and into the grandstands,” Long said.
“The players have done that and the football clubs have done that and they have to be congratulated.
Michael Long says the Dreamtime game has made a difference in stopping racism.Source:News Limited
“A lot of the local communities and people from all over Australia come to watch this game because of the Dreamtime at the ‘G. But it’s grown enormously and part of that is what we do with the Long Walk and both clubs, Essendon and Richmond, have grown what they do off the field as well as growing the game itself.”
As many as 90,000 fans are predicted to attend Saturday night’s match, which Richmond and Essendon both hold 5-4 records heading into.
Bombers forward Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti — who, like Long, hails from the Tiwi Islands — said he could not wait to run out in front of such a big crowd and represent indigenous Australia.
“It’s good to have everyone love to watch you play and cheer you on when you get the ball,” the second-year Bomber said.
“It’s a great opportunity for myself and other players in other teams to go out and represent where you’re from and your people and your culture.”
Long will lead the annual ‘Long Walk’ to the game from Federation Square, starting at 4.30pm.
Originally published as Long: Fans taking lead on racism
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