General footy chat Robert Muir endured racist abuse throughout his career

[Thunder Shaker]

Goodes wasn't the first Indigenous player to endure racist abuse on the football field, neither was Nicky Winmar. It has been going on a lot longer than that. Robert Muir endured a great deal of racist abuse throughout his career in the 1970s and 1980s and did not receive any protection.

The persecution of Robert Muir is the story football doesn't want to hear (abc.net.au)

St Kilda, AFL apologise to ex-player Robert Muir after accounts of horrible racism surface (afl.com.au)

[stevoswan]

Glad you put these articles up.....I posted the first link on the Match thread but when I added the second, the thread froze and the link retitled to 'iview'. Weird.
It is shocking what Muir had to endure......no wonder he was angry on the field. For the treatment to continue after his AFL career, relentlessly, is yet another sad indictment on certain sections of Australian society.
Nice to see the current St Kilda FC has reached out to him with a seemingly heartfelt apology and offer of support and reconciliation.
I also see a St Kilda fan set up a Gofundme page to raise money for much needed shoulder surgery for Robert and it's raised over $25000 already.????
I hope these events are further positive turning points in his life (besides his wonderful partner). He deserves respect and happiness.

[Velour&Ruffles]

Another example of how pathetic and hollow the AFL's Indigenous Round is. It is self-aggrandising, corporate PR bullcrap. Don't mistake it for anything meaningful.

Actions speak louder than words. The AFL is very good at torrents of self-congratulatory words, but their silence when they could have stepped up and defended Adam Goodes from racist abuse was deafening (and don't forget - two of the most pivotal moments with him were actually IN (supposedly) INDIGENOUS ROUND!).

It would appear that their silence when Robbie Muir was wanting to be included or needed help (out of the sports pages of the Herald Sun) was equally deafening.

The AFL through its (lack of) actions has displayed its true colours for all to see, and those colours are a craven cowardly yellow tinged with a vomitous bile green.

This weekend, the AFL celebrated Jackson as the honouree of Sir Doug Nicholls Round, its annual celebration of Indigenous footballers and their contribution to the game.

Muir, meanwhile, feels isolated and forgotten.

"There have been 30 or 40 events for Indigenous players over the years, and I've never been invited to one," he says.

and

What shocked was the response when he asked for assistance with surgery on the shoulder he badly damaged at St Kilda. Back then he'd windmill his arm until it popped back into place. Now he requires a $28,000 shoulder replacement.

The AFLPA balked, stating the hard truth: Muir has already received his capped limit of assistance under their Injury and Hardship Fund regulations.

Unable to afford even the consultation fee to seek alternative options, he just lives with the pain, forbidden from lifting objects heavier than five kilograms.

"The league has used my image on TV for 40 years with all those bad hits," Muir says.

"Biffs, Bumps and Brawlers. They got mileage out of that, yet they can't fix my injuries."

If ever you doubt that the AFL is full of tish, just reread those two passages.

[neilfws]

Glad you put these articles up.....I posted the first link on the Match thread but when I added the second, the thread froze and the link retitled to 'iview'. Weird.

There's a fix for that:
RWO admin message RWO bugs/errors - report issues here - Page 5

The ABC article is excellent and has been rightly lauded all day in various places online.

Russell Jackson wrote some great articles for The Guardian but stopped due to issues with delayed payment for freelancers, good to see him in action again at the ABC.

[Thunder Shaker]

I also see a St Kilda fan set up a Gofundme page to raise money for much needed shoulder surgery for Robert and it's raised over $25000 already.????

It's now raised over $80,000.

[KTigers]

Another example of how pathetic and hollow the AFL's Indigenous Round is. It is self-aggrandising, corporate PR bullcrap. Don't mistake it for anything meaningful.

Actions speak louder than words. The AFL is very good at torrents of self-congratulatory words, but their silence when they could have stepped up and defended Adam Goodes from racist abuse was deafening (and don't forget - two of the most pivotal moments with him were actually IN (supposedly) INDIGENOUS ROUND!).

It would appear that their silence when Robbie Muir was wanting to be included or needed help (out of the sports pages of the Herald Sun) was equally deafening.

The AFL through its (lack of) actions has displayed its true colours for all to see, and those colours are a craven cowardly yellow tinged with a vomitous bile green.

This weekend, the AFL celebrated Jackson as the honouree of Sir Doug Nicholls Round, its annual celebration of Indigenous footballers and their contribution to the game.

Muir, meanwhile, feels isolated and forgotten.

"There have been 30 or 40 events for Indigenous players over the years, and I've never been invited to one," he says.

and

What shocked was the response when he asked for assistance with surgery on the shoulder he badly damaged at St Kilda. Back then he'd windmill his arm until it popped back into place. Now he requires a $28,000 shoulder replacement.

The AFLPA balked, stating the hard truth: Muir has already received his capped limit of assistance under their Injury and Hardship Fund regulations.

Unable to afford even the consultation fee to seek alternative options, he just lives with the pain, forbidden from lifting objects heavier than five kilograms.

"The league has used my image on TV for 40 years with all those bad hits," Muir says.

"Biffs, Bumps and Brawlers. They got mileage out of that, yet they can't fix my injuries."

If ever you doubt that the AFL is full of tish, just reread those two passages.

There is nothing inherently wrong with having the Indigenous Round, but it's been a very hollow exercise since the AFL's inaction
over the racist treatment of Adam during the last few years of his footy career. The AFL are just like all these big companies taking
out full page ads in the paper and advertising incessantly on TV extolling their own virtues and special care and understanding of
every issue under the sun. The virtue signalling advertising industry (soon there will be degree courses for it) is probably the only
thing keeping old school media afloat.

[neilfws]

There is nothing inherently wrong with having the Indigenous Round, but it's been a very hollow exercise since the AFL's inaction
over the racist treatment of Adam during the last few years of his footy career.

I agree.

This "free the flag" business is also more complicated than the AFL are making it out to be. According to this thread they are quite welcome to use the flag - just not to profit from selling clothing that features it. Simply because only one company is licensed to do that.

https://twitter.com/clairegcoleman/status/1296555447005003776

So the suspicion is that they've dropped the flag and made it an issue because they can't make money from it.

For balance, another article that says it's a bit more complicated than that.

Freeing the Aboriginal flag: how a 'uniting symbol' ended up in the hands of the few | Australia news | The Guardian

[bloodspirit]

Thank you, Thunder Shaker, for posting those articles. The first is a long but painfully moving and very worthwhile read. Well done Russell Jackson. Well done Robert Muir for having the courage to share his story.

[KTigers]

I agree.

This "free the flag" business is also more complicated than the AFL are making it out to be. According to this thread they are quite welcome to use the flag - just not to profit from selling clothing that features it. Simply because only one company is licensed to do that.

https://twitter.com/clairegcoleman/status/1296555447005003776

So the suspicion is that they've dropped the flag and made it an issue because they can't make money from it.

For balance, another article that says it's a bit more complicated than that.

Freeing the Aboriginal flag: how a 'uniting symbol' ended up in the hands of the few | Australia news | The Guardian

I think the AFL are steering clear of using the flag at the moment because it is a complicated issue. It's a no-win situation for them, so
they aren't playing. The indigenous jumpers don't have to have the flag on them to be indigenous jumpers. I'm slightly surprised Ken Wyatt
is saying the government buying the rights is not an option. Clearly the current ownership/licensing situation isn't working that well.
There are a lot of people and organisations unhappy with the current situation. If the ownership of the flag was to change to where it
was collectively owned there will still be the issue of who can use it to be resolved and administered.

[Blood Fever]

Goodes wasn't the first Indigenous player to endure racist abuse on the football field, neither was Nicky Winmar. It has been going on a lot longer than that. Robert Muir endured a great deal of racist abuse throughout his career in the 1970s and 1980s and did not receive any protection.

The persecution of Robert Muir is the story football doesn't want to hear (abc.net.au)

St Kilda, AFL apologise to ex-player Robert Muir after accounts of horrible racism surface (afl.com.au)

Newman and Mcguire used him up on the Footy Show irresponsibly and then moved on as usual. Any statement from Channel 9?

[stevoswan]

Newman and Mcguire used him up on the Footy Show irresponsibly and then moved on as usual. Any statement from Channel 9?

.....and by doing so, perpetuated and increased his pain and suffering for many more years. They are exploitive leeches of the highest order. Thank goodness that show has been relegated to the bin of shameful history.....and actually, a statement of apology from Nine would be appropriate but I won't be holding my breath.

[Thunder Shaker]

Thank you, Thunder Shaker, for posting those articles. The first is a long but painfully moving and very worthwhile read. Well done Russell Jackson. Well done Robert Muir for having the courage to share his story.

No problem. I thought it was a story that needed to be told because until now we've only heard one side of that story.

A recent story: Robert Muir will be supported by St Kilda, CEO Matt Finnis says, after details of racist abuse are revealed

And the GoFundMe page has passed its target of $100,000.

[Sandridge]

No problem. I thought it was a story that needed to be told because until now we've only heard one side of that story.

A recent story: Robert Muir will be supported by St Kilda, CEO Matt Finnis says, after details of racist abuse are revealed

And the GoFundMe page has passed its target of $100,000.

I'm not a lover of St.Kilda by any stretch of the imagination but full marks to them for their response to this.

Perhaps other clubs with similar concerns could take note?

[Thunder Shaker]

I'm not a lover of St.Kilda by any stretch of the imagination but full marks to them for their response to this.

35 years is far too long to wait.

One thing I want to see come from this is broader support for players after they retire. No player who has sustained an injury on the football field should be living with that injury after their career ends. Muir is still dealing with an injury from his playing days and the original purpose of the GoFundMe is to pay for the shoulder surgery that he needs.

[Velour&Ruffles]

I'm not a lover of St.Kilda by any stretch of the imagination but full marks to them for their response to this.

Perhaps other clubs with similar concerns could take note?

St Kilda's president is a man of great character. I am not surprised the Saints responded in this way.

The contrast with the Collingwood president, who used Muir as a sideshow freak for his own ratings purposes, is very stark indeed.