Racism in sport: So where to from here?

Over the last few years, we have become painfully aware of the fact that systemic, institutional racism is still endemic within the sports ecosystem. While the AFL might have had some of the most high-profile examples of late, sport is just a microcosm of the broader community.

The time has come for a coordinated national approach within sport.

There has been a myriad of initiatives implemented and dozens of committees and boards to oversee these initiatives. Millions of dollars have been invested with varying impact and success. Harnessing this collective investment of time, talent and dollars, and pointing this same investment in a targeted, focused way, will surely increase the likelihood of success.

Don’t get me wrong. We have certainly moved the dial over the last 30 years. No question.

But, if what we are doing is working well, why are we still here? Why are we having the same conversations? Something material needs to change, and for a country like Australia, sport is a natural place to start.

Sport is part of the fabric of Australian society, and, along with the arts, offers a little window into our nation’s culture, at a single point in time. Sport reflects our country’s evolution towards a mature, vibrant, inclusive community. One where our people and our economy enjoy the benefits of engaging all Australians.

But as a microcosm of our society, sport will also amplify undercurrents that exist in our communities. And while we have made great steps forward, when the ‘rubber hits the road’ we are coming up short.

We need to look to the aspirations and success of the Yorta Yorta people, to create a shared cultural identity and vision that celebrates inclusion, good health and a vibrant, economically sustainable community.

The Goulburn Murray region and its people are leading by example through a First nations think tank, the Kaiela Institute, in partnership with the University of Melbourne, and the Munarra Centre for Regional Excellence.

This intellectual and social investment in regional Australia, as we have seen in the Goulburn Murray region is an important piece of the jigsaw puzzle.

In a post-COVID Australia, one of the most important vehicles we will have to unite this divided country is sport. It is the language of our people, however we choose to get involved.

Why?

Because sport has the potential to unite us. Just think of Cathy Freeman in 2000 and Ash Barty this year.

It also has the potential to divide us, like the treatment of Adam Goodes in 2015.

However, used well it can be a powerful vehicle for change. And now more than ever, we need to understand how sport can help to heal our nation and guide us to the creation of a shared cultural identity as a collective people.

I call on the boards and executive of the national and state sporting organisations to walk alongside our First People as we all try to ‘do better’. We need to embed the cultural competencies, the lessons, that abolish institutional racism from our sector. We need to put respect for all at the heart of everything we do.

How can we have the opportunity to create moments that are far bigger than sports? And we, at the Australian Sports Commission, will walk with you on this journey.

We can no longer leave the job of advocating for their own human rights to the ones whose human rights have been compromised. That is not right and that is not who we are. We are better than this.

We have a chance to rebuild our nation the way all of us want to see it – to celebrate our ancestral heritage the way other nations do when we travel overseas and enjoy learning about their histories.

In a post-COVID Australia, one of the most important vehicles we will have to unite this divided country is sport. It is the language of our people, however we choose to get involved.

The example of the Yorta Yorta, the visionary leadership and the deliberate steps they have taken, makes the Goulburn Valley region an extraordinary example of what happens when a community pulls together and walks in the same direction.

Let us all build on these lessons learned, and through sport, make 2022 the year that all Australians ‘finally’, begin our walk together.

The author would like to acknowledge the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation and pay her respects to elders past, present and emerging. The author also wants to acknowledge the beautiful Yorta Yorta people and their elders, whose vision and leadership is guiding the community of the Goulburn Valley region, through collaborative, respectful thought leadership. Thank you.

This is an edited extract of Josephine Sukkar AM’s Dungala Kaiela Oration co-hosted by the Kaiela Institute and the University of Melbourne. You can watch this year’s Oration here:

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