Past Robert Muir - ABC Article

[gringo2011]

27k in 4 hours. Going for 40k, I donated $20.
Club should try to help.

I gave a bit more but I was going to go to Dan Murphy's and spend more than I gave, I'd rather he use it to stop his shoulder giving him grief. I thought at that point $25,000 was a pipe dream. Now it looks like he'll have a bit of extra to make his life easier. Proud of the support everyone has shown him. Aussies are a compassionate lot deep down.

 

[Armitage2Riewoldt]

First statement is spot on. It doesn't require a CEO hours later to have to address that.

Its good it was fixed but it should never have got to that point.

They can't change the past but they can do their best to make amends for it in the future.

 

[KingsRansom]

That takes alot of guts, well done Matt Finnis

 

[pebblesofsand]

Club statement: Robert Muir

St Kilda Football Club CEO Matt Finnis has issued the following statement in relation to Robert Muir.

www.saints.com.au

St Kilda Football Club CEO Matt Finnis has issued the following statement in relation to Robert Muir.

“Reading about the impact of racism on Robert Muir’s life in today’s ABC article will no doubt be confronting for everyone involved in football, as it was for me personally.

“We admire Robert’s courage to speak out about the racism he has endured and lack of support provided by our Club when he needed it most.

“We apologise unreservedly to Robert and his family and are humbled that he continues to love our Club.

“Today we celebrate the contribution Indigenous players have made to our game as part of the Sir Doug Nicholls Round. However, we must face the reality that the St Kilda Football Club has made grave errors in the past and may still be failing to grasp the full impact of the hurt felt by individuals, their families and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

“We are committed to reconciliation and justice, and must ensure that this commitment is not just about celebration of culture, and initiatives to support past and current players and junior footballers. We must also acknowledge our mistakes, and take action to repair harm and ensure mistakes are never repeated.

“We will reach out to Robert to apologise personally, to provide the necessary support now and in the future, and to ensure he feels the respect and sense of belonging he deserves as one of the St Kilda Football Club’s pioneering Indigenous footballers.

“We have much to learn from Robert’s story and are committed to rebuilding his relationship with St Kilda and our game at his pace.”

 

[gringo2011]

I think the club has handled it very well today.

Can't be easy reading for all involved, but instead of sweeping it under the carpet like some clubs continue to do with racism allegations, we've shared the full article on social media and admitted wrong doing within hours of its release.

Not sure what else people would want.

The club has clearly made a massive fu** up in this situation but I'm confident with Finnis in charge they'll manage to do something positive.

Yep, look at the difference between Hertier Lamumba and the plight of Robbie. That's how to handle a negative situation with class and respect. Acknowledge what was done to him was wrong and try to reach out to heal the pain. These are the situations Finnis handles really well.

 

[Mowman]

Club statement: Robert Muir

St Kilda Football Club CEO Matt Finnis has issued the following statement in relation to Robert Muir.

www.saints.com.au

St Kilda Football Club CEO Matt Finnis has issued the following statement in relation to Robert Muir.

“Reading about the impact of racism on Robert Muir’s life in today’s ABC article will no doubt be confronting for everyone involved in football, as it was for me personally.

“We admire Robert’s courage to speak out about the racism he has endured and lack of support provided by our Club when he needed it most.

“We apologise unreservedly to Robert and his family and are humbled that he continues to love our Club.

“Today we celebrate the contribution Indigenous players have made to our game as part of the Sir Doug Nicholls Round. However, we must face the reality that the St Kilda Football Club has made grave errors in the past and may still be failing to grasp the full impact of the hurt felt by individuals, their families and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

“We are committed to reconciliation and justice, and must ensure that this commitment is not just about celebration of culture, and initiatives to support past and current players and junior footballers. We must also acknowledge our mistakes, and take action to repair harm and ensure mistakes are never repeated.

“We will reach out to Robert to apologise personally, to provide the necessary support now and in the future, and to ensure he feels the respect and sense of belonging he deserves as one of the St Kilda Football Club’s pioneering Indigenous footballers.

“We have much to learn from Robert’s story and are committed to rebuilding his relationship with St Kilda and our game at his pace.”

Just WOW
Well done Matt and ST Kilda Football Club

 

[StCicatriz]

They can't change the past but they can do their best to make amends for it in the future.

Agree entirely. I'm wrapped with the new statement. I just feel disheartened it wasn't done originally. Its the same way I felt reading the article. That this wasnt dealt with before.

Matts new statement is absolutely spot on.

First and foremost we need to make sure Robbie is "looked after". That he feels loved by his club. His health and welfare need to be a priority.

Secondly we need to make sure other players in the same position are identified and "looked after".

Thirdly we need to make sure this never happens again.

Matts statement is atleast acknowledgement that the first step is being under taken.

 

[Joffaboy]

The best thing that might come out of this is that robbie sees how quickly the money was raised and sees how loved he is by not only st kilda supporters but also the larger AFL community.

This. To me it was easily worth $20 to read his story especially during indigenous round.
Instead of paying lip service, this article gives us reason to understand what the indigenous players has brought to our game and the humiliation and abuse they suffered

 

[bird_man]

I gave a bit more but I was going to go to Dan Murphy's and spend more than I gave, I'd rather he use it to stop his shoulder giving him grief. I thought at that point $25,000 was a pipe dream. Now it looks like he'll have a bit of extra to make his life easier. Proud of the support everyone has shown him. Aussies are a compassionate lot deep down.

I hope he gets plenty more.

Sounds like the poor bastard has lived through some dark times. It's a blessing he is still with us.

Bipolar is an awful illness to have to try and live with. I can only imagine how hard it would have been with his upbringing and then everything he had to deal with throughout his adult life.

Great to see he's on track. I hope he can live the rest of his life with a bit more happines.

 

[Moquo]

Apart from all the help Robert could be given by the AFL and its community, one thing they could do is trawl through the archives and put together a decent compilation of genuine football highlights of him in action and put it on Youtube. I remember him being a remarkably talented footballer, but for anyone without those memories all that is available to see is "Robbie Muir goes Beserk!" type things. Part of the healing process would be a counter to that characterisation.

This is a brilliant idea. Showcase the mans talent.

 

[pebblesofsand]

Agree entirely. I'm wrapped with the new statement. I just feel disheartened it wasn't done originally. Its the same way I felt reading the article. That this wasnt dealt with before.

Matts new statement is absolutely spot on.

First and foremost we need to make sure Robbie is "looked after". That he feels loved by his club. His health and welfare need to be a priority.

Secondly we need to make sure other players in the same position are identified and "looked after".

Thirdly we need to make sure this never happens again.

Matts statement is atleast acknowledgement that the first step is being under taken.

I think the most important part of the release is

"....are committed to rebuilding his relationship with St Kilda and our game at his pace."

$30k

 

[StCicatriz]

I think the most important part of the release is

"....are committed to rebuilding his relationship with St Kilda and our game at his pace."

$30k

Very important comment

 

[cartwright]

Thanks to Russell too, for telling his story.

 

[gringo2011]

I hope he gets plenty more.

Sounds like the poor bastard has lived through some dark times. It's a blessing he is still with us.

Bipolar is an awful illness to have to try and live with. I can only imagine how hard it would have been with his upbringing and then everything he had to deal with throughout his adult life.

Great to see he's on track. I hope he can live the rest of his life with a bit more happines.

Seriously I reckon he must of been made of iron, the guy was incredibly resilient. I would have lost it so much worse than he ever did. I'm not very well emotionally regulated watching footy and injustice winds me up more than anything. I reckon I would have made Robbie look like a saint in comparison. You can't imagine the kind of pain he must have been carrying around. It's like the whole football world was out to gaslight him and then post footy it didn't stop. I don't reckon I could have got through it. And Sam Newman what can I say.

 

[Geary Is GOAT]

It blows me away that there isn't a standing invitation to past indigenous players from the club to have them attend the Sir Doug Nicholls. But to have an indigenous player reach out and get ignored is inexcusable.

I hope there is some serious leg work put in by the club in the aftermath of this as to how we can better celebrate the achievements of, and reflect on the adversities faced by our past indigenous players.

We can't lean on Winmar forever simply because its a famous story. There are more to tell and we should be proactive as a club about telling them.

 

[Joffaboy]

Some names on the gofundme page. Nova Perris, Gordon Fode, Andy Maher, Charlie Clausen.
That's in the past hour.

 

[StCicatriz]

It blows me away that there isn't a standing invitation to past indigenous players from the club to have them attend the Sir Doug Nicholls. But to have an indigenous player reach out and get ignored is inexcusable.

I hope there is some serious leg work put in by the club in the aftermath of this as to how we can better celebrate the achievements of, and reflect on the adversities faced by our past indigenous players.

We can't lean on Winmar forever simply because its a famous story. There are more to tell and we should be proactive as a club about telling them.

Really good point

You would hope there's a bit of a review that takes place to ensure our past players are taken care of and that our indigenous players are not only taken care of but also properly celebrated and engaged with the club.

 

[StCicatriz]

Some names on the gofundme page. Nova Perris, Gordon Fode, Andy Maher, Charlie Clausen.
That's in the past hour.

Don't sell your self short....

JOFFABOY

 

[gringo2011]

Thanks to Russell too, for telling his story.

It was an incredible piece. It takes a lot to flip people's perspective on issues and I reckon it's the best example of being able to walk in someone else's shoes that I can think of. People could read about Goodes and others and still justify why it wasn't unreasonable behaviour, it would be a pretty hard hearted person that ignored the pain described in the article and wasn't changed in some way at least.

 

[CarnTheSAINTERS]

Robbie Muir. what an awesome player he was but my god. that article was so hard to read. To grow up the way he did brings life long trauma. the abuse he received while playing. I was aware of the racial abuse he received but not to this level. And his struggles after his playing career is so shattering. To think that one of our top players urinated on him In his early days is disgusting. that article also shows why Collingwood has the worst fanbase. They’re called the filth for a reason. I always thought he was a cranky guy, but jeez that is heartbreaking. He needs serious action taken.

 

[StCicatriz]

Next year I love us to celebrate our past players at our indigneous round game. Kind of like how the NRL does the retiring players at the grand final.

 

[gringo2011]

It blows me away that there isn't a standing invitation to past indigenous players from the club to have them attend the Sir Doug Nicholls. But to have an indigenous player reach out and get ignored is inexcusable.

I hope there is some serious leg work put in by the club in the aftermath of this as to how we can better celebrate the achievements of, and reflect on the adversities faced by our past indigenous players.

We can't lean on Winmar forever simply because its a famous story. There are more to tell and we should be proactive as a club about telling them.

Yeah, hopefully as part of Alan Murray's role he could bring guys like Robbie in from time to time. These guys were pioneers and deserve their place in history.

 

[Keg still on legs]

Wow. That was a tough read. Also an incredibly important one.

Just donated and balance over $31k. I hope Robbie can find some peace and a sense of pride in how much he is appreciated

 

[Moquo]

Currently at $32,032 for the old number 32

 

[Mowman]

$33692