Former Blue and indigenous trailblazer, Eddie Betts, has shared his reaction to Cyril Rioli’s racism allegations in regard to Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett.
In an interview with The Age, Rioli – alongside wife Shannyn – spoke out about his fractured relationship with his former club, and how the final few years leading up to his shock retirement were overshadowed by issues off the field, including several alleged racist incidents.
An advocate for indigenous rights and cultural safety throughout his career, Betts was unsurprised by Rioli’s claims of racism within the AFL system.
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“I wasn’t surprised, to be honest,” he said on Fox’s coverage.
“To lose the most exciting player in the game to racism is sad really if that’s true.”
Betts touched on the AFL’s efforts to combat racism but said the organisation is still a long way off in its endeavours to stamp it out altogether.
“We fought for 20 years to get indigenous liaison offers into every club to make it culturally safe for young indigenous players as they come into the game – and we only just achieved that this year – so the AFL, we’re going in the right step but we’ve still got a long way to go,” he said.
“Whenever racism comes up I’m happy to stand up and talk about it because we need to stamp it out.”
At this stage, no announcements have been made regarding plans to investigate Rioli’s allegations.
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