New allegations of misconduct at Collingwood Football Club have been made by former defender Héritier Lumumba, including the use of a pornographic image in a team meeting during the premiership player’s time at the AFL club.
A News Corp article on Monday revealed parts of a dossier compiled by Lumumba which he reportedly intended to present to the club as part of the process recommended by its Do Better report.
Collingwood vowed to implement all recommendations from the report released in February last year, which included a strategy to address racism. But Lumumba recently announced he and fellow former Collingwood stars Leon Davis and Andrew Krakouer had cut ties with the club, claiming “nothing has changed”.
Coach Nathan Buckley, who was in charge at the club at the time of the alleged new incidents but not directly implicated, responded to the fresh claims on Monday, and questioned what Lumumba wants to achieve in his long-running dispute with the AFL club.
“The club have, from my understanding tried to work with Héritier and other Indigenous players, who have been part of systemic racism situations over the course of the club’s history,” Buckley, who exited Collingwood in mid-2021 and now works in the media, told SEN on Monday.
“I am happy to engage with the club however they wish, but Héritier hasn’t been satisfied with that and that’s why we are where we’re at.
“It seems that Héritier doesn’t really want to move forward unless, I don’t know, he needs heads to roll. I don’t know exactly what he’s looking for, or what his requirements are to feel like he has been heard, because that is really what we have tried to do.
“He has been apologised to – I’ve apologised to him, the club has apologised to him ... for the environment that he’s been in – and not just Héritier – but the other Indigenous players.
“Other areas when we talk about – misogyny, homophobia, those cultural aspects of an organisation – football clubs have come a long way. We’re talking about things that have happened 10 to 15 years ago, and when you remove context and bring it into the current day, it sounds even more abhorrent than it would have been then.”
Buckley conceded he had not been “perfect” as a coach or a person but believes he is learning and getting better all the time.
“I put my head on the pillow last night and I slept well because I know that I have owned my imperfections and I’ve owned the things that I’m responsible for,” he said.
Lumumba, who left Collingwood in 2014, has been speaking out about his alleged experiences of racism at the Magpies for a number of years.
