Racism has been an issue that has plagued Australian sports, and continues to do so to this day.
Adelaide Crows forward Taylor Walker was recently handed a six-game ban by the AFL, for his comments towards North Adelaide SANFL player Robbie Young.
In light of Walker’s remark, a further dive seemed appropriate to uncover the scourge of racism in Australia’s favourite sports.
Please note that data is not comprehensive and was collected myself.
Since Nicky Winmar’s immortal gesture in 1993, there have been 22 notable incidents reported to the AFL.
Reported Incidents in the AFL 1993-Present
Beautiful, easy data visualization and storytelling
Of the last 29 years, only six of these reported offences were committed before the year 2000, with 72.7% of incidents occurring from 2000 to today.
2011 and 2014 are the only years to record three incidents, as 2011 saw Western Bulldogs player Justin Sherman, banned for four games for racially vilifying an unnamed Gold Coast Suns player.
Majak Daw was racially abused by a spectator during a VFL match, and Lance Franklin also received racial abuse from crowd members in Launceston this year.
In 2014, a 70-year-old man received a penalty notice for offensive behaviour after he allegedly made racists comments about Sydney Swans players, Majak Daw was once again the recipient of racial abuse from a crowd member, and West Coast Eagles ruckman Nic Naitanui was racially vilified on twitter.
The offender, a man named Vinh Phuc Nguyen pleaded guilty to three counts of using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence, and was banned from twitter.
Untitled visualisation
Beautiful, easy data visualization and storytelling
Of the 22 reported incidents, seven were committed by a player, eleven by fans, two by a member of the coaching staff and two by AFL media personalities.
Incidents involving media personalities include Rex Hunt’s comments towards Leon Davis in 2005, and Eddie Mcguire’s racial vilification of Adam Goodes in 2013.
In comparison to recorded incidents in other Australian sports at this time, AFL leads the way with 22 reported incidents, followed by Rugby League with 11, cricket with five and A-League with four.
Issues in Major Australian Sports 1993-Present
Beautiful, easy data visualization and storytelling
This may not reflect poorly on the AFL for having the most reported incidents of racism, but on the other major Australian sports that maybe aren’t handling them as well, or acting on these issues at all.
It’s also likely that athletes receive racial abuse and don’t report it.
This data shows that since 1993, there has been little to change to the racism we witness in our most popular sports.
