Scandal Robert Muir

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After playing 3rds at the Cats then playing in Melb when I was at Uni, I,did a pre-season with Robbie Muir ar Ballarat Football Club - he ended up playing for East Ballarat and I for another club in that league. He was a wonderful reserved and kind hearted person and a titan of a trainer and still clearly at VFL level. I am ashamed of the role of the Geelong club (some of those players must have been some I played with), and I have nothing but love for Robbie. I wish him all the best and nothing but happiness with his family.
 
Robbie Muir was one of my favourite opposition players.
Hearing about the abuse he received is terrible but not
surprising.

The crowds in the 70s & 80s were populated with narrow
minded idiots. Anyone different to Anglo Saxons were abused
and belittled. It was normal behaviour and no one criticised
the abusers, least of all the media. It was a shameful time.

I met Robbie at Hosies strip club in the late 90's and had
a drink with him. He was a nice guy and I'm glad I told him
that, as a opposition fan, he was still a favourite of mine.
 

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Muir coached our school football team in what was then the Herald Sun shield. He was a very straight down the line, gruff character but you could tell he was also knowledgeable in the game and cared, giving up his time.

He cut a fairly decent player for calling him mad dog, which obviously links into what the article speaks to and was a very raw thing for him. Pretty confronting read but at the same time think it's important to have these things in the public discourse.
 
Played a charity basketball game with him in Adelaide in the late 70s. Great guy off the court, friendly, chatty, relaxed.

On the court the eyes bulged, the nostrils flared...and it could have been the NBL...
 
WireHawk said:
Robbie Muir was one of my favourite opposition players.
Hearing about the abuse he received is terrible but not
surprising.

The crowds in the 70s & 80s were populated with narrow
minded idiots. Anyone different to Anglo Saxons were abused
and belittled. It was normal behaviour and no one criticised
the abusers, least of all the media. It was a shameful time.

I met Robbie at Hosies strip club in the late 90's and had
a drink with him. He was a nice guy and I'm glad I told him
that, as a opposition fan, he was still a favourite of mine.
Click to expand...
You know those narrow minded idiots are still around?
 
sosos said:
You know those narrow minded idiots are still around?
Click to expand...
Yes of course. But in the 70s,80s and even the 90s there were more of them
and they were never challenged. At least now there is some accountability.

Victoria Park, Windy Hill and Moorabbin especially were absolute cesspools of bigotry
in those moronic times.
 
WireHawk said:
Yes of course. But in the 70s,80s and even the 90s there were more of them
and they were never challenged. At least now there is some accountability.

Victoria Park, Windy Hill and Moorabbin especially were absolute cesspools of bigotry
in those moronic times.
Click to expand...

Yes but they went after everyone, even their own. I remember as a kid going to Vic Park, my mate and I left half way through the reserves as we watched rivers of piss flow down the hill from over-flowing urinals and listened to pies supporters hang disgusting s**t on their own reserve players. It was a different time. Not defending it but they went after anyone back then and any topic was fair game.
 
Linda_Lovelace said:
Yes but they went after everyone, even their own. I remember as a kid going to Vic Park, my mate and I left half way through the reserves as we watched rivers of piss flow down the hill from over-flowing urinals and listened to pies supporters hang disgusting sh*t on their own reserve players. It was a different time. Not defending it but they went after anyone back then and any topic was fair game.
Click to expand...
You are right that everyone was fair game. It was brutal and ugly. Also it
wasn't just Victoria Park, although that was probably the worst, it was all
suburban grounds.

It's just that the indigenous players copped it worse than other scapegoats.
Even then it was hard to listen to. Not much a teenager can do when confronted
with some of the neanderthal gangs that dished out the abuse. Say anything at
Victoria Park,Windy Hill or Moorabbin and you would be subject to a severe belting.
Can't reason with drunken psychos.

The MCG, whilst not totally immune to crowd stupidity, was a relative haven compared
to the other grounds. Ironically the MCG was where I got thrown into a divvy van after
brawling with some abusive clowns. I just got fed up and responded. I was 17 and learned
that there is a price to pay for confronting abusive drunken fools.

I still think it was worth it.
 
WireHawk said:
You are right that everyone was fair game. It was brutal and ugly. Also it
wasn't just Victoria Park, although that was probably the worst, it was all
suburban grounds.

It's just that the indigenous players copped it worse than other scapegoats.
Even then it was hard to listen to. Not much a teenager can do when confronted
with some of the neanderthal gangs that dished out the abuse. Say anything at
Victoria Park,Windy Hill or Moorabbin and you would be subject to a severe belting.
Can't reason with drunken psychos.

The MCG, whilst not totally immune to crowd stupidity, was a relative haven compared
to the other grounds. Ironically the MCG was where I got thrown into a divvy van after
brawling with some abusive clowns. I just got fed up and responded. I was 17 and learned
that there is a price to pay for confronting abusive drunken fools.

I still think it was worth it.
Click to expand...

Funnily enough, we left Vic Park and went to the MCG to watch the game there. As you said a relative haven but I guess by being so big you could get your own space most of the time. That said I copped it one day from this obese Dogs female supporter for simply cheering a Pies goal. It was a different era.
 
Adelaide Hawk said:
Those players were extremely popular and I seriously cannot recall any racist comments directed towards them. Michael Graham had the sobriquet "Black Flash", but nobody seemed to mind. These days, Graham is referred to as "The Flash", so maybe there was an attempt to right a wrong. The only comment I ever heard from spectators I found a little racist was from a Port Adelaide fan calling Fabian Francis "midnight". I don't know, maybe I was too busy watching the football and appreciating great players to take notice of that crap.
Click to expand...
As a lifelong Double Blues fan I don't ever recall Michael Graham being referred to as the 'Black Flash'. Definitely 'The Flash' but not the former. I did see Robbie Muir play quite a bit too, as my late Mum was a West Torrens fan - and I don't recall a lot of racial abuse towards him, other than when he jumped the fence and was promptly sacked. I did run into him at my local pub (Kings Head Hotel) many years later, and he was very quiet and reserved - but he did have that 'stare' that was a little unnerving - but certainly didn't appear to bother anyone else. Like you I think we were sort of engrossed in the actual games, and didn't really hear any abuse. Still, I'm sure it was a horrible experience for him and others.
 

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