Racist Messages Target AFL Player Following Game
Hawthorn Football Club and the Australian Football League (AFL) have strongly condemned the recent “vile and appalling” racial abuse directed at player Mabior Chol through social media direct messages. Chol, a forward for Hawthorn of South Sudanese heritage, shared screenshots of the offensive comments he received on Instagram following his team’s defeat against the Western Bulldogs on Friday evening.
Chol posted the messages with the caption, “You can talk s*** all you want but don’t be like this guy.” He had contributed significantly to his team’s performance, kicking an equal game-high three goals in the 12.5 (77) to 9.17 (71) loss at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Persistent Abuse and Investigation Underway
This is not the first instance of racial discrimination faced by the 29-year-old former Gold Coast and Richmond player, who has encountered such abuse multiple times throughout his ten-year AFL career. In response to the latest incident, both Hawthorn and the AFL’s integrity unit confirmed on Saturday that they are collaborating to investigate the matter thoroughly.
The AFL stated that any identified perpetrator of this abuse faces a potential ban from attending future AFL matches. “Racism has no place anywhere, anytime – not in our game, not in the community and not online,” an AFL official commented in a statement. “Players, or anyone, should never be subjected to this sort of abuse. To be clear, if you think this behaviour is acceptable, then you are not welcome in our game. Mabior’s courage to call this out should be commended and our immediate focus is supporting him and the Hawthorn Football Club.”
Club Pledges Support for Player
Hawthorn CEO Ash Klein echoed these sentiments, emphasizing that racist behavior is “simply not acceptable” and reaffirming the club’s unwavering support for Chol. “There is no place for racism in our game and in our society,” Klein stated. “If you are the sort of person who thinks it’s OK to make a comment or send a message like this, we don’t want you as part of our game. We commend Mabior’s courage in calling this out and we stand with him. Our immediate focus is on wrapping our arms around and supporting Mabior.”
Support services are available for those in need, including Lifeline at 13 11 14 and beyondblue at 1300 22 4636.
