Lions cancel membership of person who racially abused Crows star Izak Rankine

by Admin
July 8, 2024

In short:

Adelaide star Izak Rankine has been racially abused on social media by a Brisbane Lions member.

The Lions have since cancelled the person’s membership.

What’s next?

The abuse has been referred to the AFL Integrity Department for further investigation.

The Brisbane Lions have cancelled the membership of a person who racially abused Adelaide Crows star Izak Rankine.

The Lions said the racial abuse occurred on social media during the AFL clash with the Crows on Sunday and was referred to the AFL Integrity Department for further investigation.

“Racism is unacceptable. There are no excuses,” a Lions statement read.

“We condemn the social media comments made towards an Adelaide Crows player during the match last night.

“They do not reflect the values of our club or our players.”

Adelaide said it was supporting Rankine after the “disgusting racial slur”, which came at the start of NAIDOC Week, “a time at which we should be celebrating Indigenous culture rather than dealing with vilification”.

The Crows thanked Brisbane for its quick response and Adelaide chief executive Tim Silvers said “it is extremely sad and disappointing that we find ourselves dealing with yet another abhorrent attack”.

“As an industry, we have a collective responsibility to not only call out racism, but do everything we can to eradicate it, and we support Brisbane which has acted swiftly and decisively,” Silvers said in a statement.

“It is also important we take the time to understand the hurt this behaviour causes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people because unfortunately, despite how far we have come in this space, the message is still not getting through.

“The club will continue to support Izak and his family and do whatever we can to stamp out racism in football and the wider community.”