The Collingwood Football Club is facing new allegations of racism, with its chief executive officer Craig Kelly accused of making slurs and jokes about Indigenous culture.
Warning: The following story contains language which may offend some readers.
The club’s former head of First Nations strategy, Mark Cleaver, has outlined the claims against Mr Kelly in documents filed with the Federal Circuit and Family Court.
Mr Cleaver, who is non-binary and is referred to using he/him pronouns in court documents, is now suing Collingwood.
He has alleged he suffered “hurt, humiliation and distress” and “economic loss” after the club terminated his employment in May this year.
Mr Cleaver alleges the club breached several laws, including the discrimination acts around race, disability and equal opportunity.
In an application filed with the court, Mr Cleaver described himself as a First Nations person who is gay, in a same-sex relationship and suffers from multiple sclerosis.
The documents outline a series of alleged incidents involving Mr Kelly.
Mr Kelly is alleged to have described a female Indigenous elder as “a dumb old bitch”, and committed physical assaults against Mr Cleaver.
In a statement, the Collingwood Football Club said it believed it had “acted lawfully” and intended to defend the matter.
The AFL said it was aware of Mr Cleaver’s complaint but said it was “deemed a workplace issue for the club”.
The case comes three years after an independent review commissioned by Collingwood found it had problems with systemic racism within its ranks.
In February, Mr Cleaver said he was meeting with Mr Kelly and another executive, Kerrie Brewer, when the group discussed what would be included in a cultural room at the club.
Mr Kelly allegedly threw a marngrook — a football made of possum hair — at Mr Cleaver and said, “I don’t give a f*** what you put in there, put this shit in there”.
Mr Cleaver said he was hit by the marngrook, which caused him humiliation and pain because of his multiple sclerosis.
“I don’t give a f*** if you put a live f***ing possum in there, just get [director Jeff Browne] and [vice-president Jodie Sizer] off my arse,” Mr Kelly is alleged to have said.
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