The former head of Collingwood's First Nations strategy has made serious accusations of racism against the AFL club.
On Monday, palawa person Mark Cleaver filed documents in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, alleging Collingwood chief executive Craig Kelly made a series of racist slurs and physically assaulted him.
According to the Herald Sun, Mr Cleaver claims that during a discussion about the need for a First Nations cultural room Mr Kelly picked up a marngrook that was on the desk and said ‘I don’t give a f*** what you put in there, put this shit in there’ and forcefully threw the ball at Mr Cleaver.
“Mr Kelly continued talking and said ‘I don’t give a f*** if you put a live f***ing possum in there, just get Jeff (Browne, Collingwood president) and (Indigenous vice-president) Jodie (Sizer) off my arse’," the Herald Sun reports.
Documents filed in court detail how Collingwood met with Uncle Alan and Aunty Carol Thorpe from Aboriginal family violence service Dardi Munwurro on March 18, with the organisation claiming it had not been paid $500,000 promised in sponsorship in the wake of previous racism scandals.
They also claim that Mr Kelly described Aunty Carol as a "dumb, old b***h", suggested provoking a Jewish colleague by texting her a 'free Palestine' photo and made racist remarks about an Asian pedestrian.
Mr Cleaver alleges that on the same day Mr Kelly said to them “Why do you need to use google maps? I assume your people can navigate with their eyes closed.”
On Thursday Dardi Munwurro said in a statement that they had been left with no choice but to immediately terminate their partnership with Collingwood, which began in 2017.
"The coverage of this case ... is causing great emotional and spiritual harm to us and our people," the statement said.
"The pain is simply too great to tolerate ...
Dardi Munwurro is a family violence service for the First Nations community ... we are deeply committed to supporting all women to feel safe and respected in the community.
The documents were filed as part of an application against Mr Cleaver’s dismissal, seeking compensation for hurt, humiliation and distress and economic loss.
Mr Cleaver made a statement to Victoria Police over Mr Kelly’s physical assaults on April 20.
On Wednesday the club "totally and absolutely" backed Mr Kelly, with club president Jeff Browne insisting that the Magpies aren't a racist club.
Mr Browne said Collingwood would "fight these proceedings" and denied the club had a racism problem.
In 2020 Jumbunna Institute academics Larissa Behrendt and Lindon Coombes conducted the review into Collingwood's responses to incidents of racism and cultural safety in the workplace, following multiple reports from Indigenous players and Amazonian-African Australian player Héritier Lumumba including public statements by Eddie McGuire, Magpies chair at the time.
Magpies claim they are doing better
After a board meeting on Wednesday, Mr Browne said Collingwood had implemented all 18 recommendations from the Do Better report and that the culture at the club was "vastly improved".
"It's a culture where people feel safe, people of diverse backgrounds feel safe and they feel safe to make complaints if they choose," he said.
Browne could not have been any stronger in backing Kelly.
"From my experience, he's doing an outstanding job as a CEO of this football club," Browne said.
"He has the full support of the board and my full support."
Mr Cleaver's legal representative Daniel Victory, from Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, said the allegations called into question whether Collingwood had learned anything from its multiple self-inflicted racism scandals.
"We are entitled to expect more from a club that has promised to do better," he said.
"The conduct alleged in this case has no place in society or any sporting club and especially not in a league that holds itself out as an agent for social change.
"Football fans have a right to feel let down once again by the Collingwood Football Club.
"The AFL should consider penalising premiership points from clubs if allegations like this are proven."
AFL spokesperson Jay Allen said the league's integrity unit was aware of a human resources workplace complaint by a Collingwood employee.
