News When will it stop: Racial attack on Betts — again

[GROTTO]

Seriously for a guy that brings so much skill, happiness and fun to the AFL and does so much good community service, he doesnt deserve this racial abuse.

On behalf of the AFC board of BigFooty we all support you here Eddie and are united together against this and any racial attack.

WeFlyAsOne


https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news...a/news-story/67b8f0a3d73c738a935dfc153929e2cb

Some of football’s biggest names have rallied around Adelaide Crows star Eddie Betts after he was racially abused on social media.

Betts, 32, re-posted a picture from Adelaide Football Club’s official Instagram account which showed him and Hawthorn legend Shaun Burgoyne arriving to play in the AFLX competition on Friday night.

Next to the picture he circled in red a comment which said “monkey see monkey do” that had been posted underneath the photo from a user calling himself ferris.pete.

On Saturday night, Betts — widely viewed as one of the game’s great Aboriginal players, and one of the greatest small forwards in AFL history — posted a screengrab of the comment with a statement that said: “When will it stop why can’t we just play footy. Why can’t we just all get along.”

The offensive comment circled in red and Eddie Betts' response on his Instagram page.
Port Lincoln-born Betts, a father of four, has repeatedly been racially vilified throughout his 295-game AFL career.

The user later deleted the comment and his own Instagram account amid universal condemnation and an angry backlash.

Betts’ comments drew strong support from his club, who publicly condemned the “abhorrent and disgusting” attack.

The post was immediately shared by AFL superstars including Geelong Brownlow Medallist Patrick Dangerfield, 28, a former Crows teammate, who described the comment as “disgusting, cowardly, racist”.

Patrick Dangerfield and Shaun Burgoyne playing during the AFLX tournament in Melbourne, on Friday … both have condemned the attack. Picture: AAP Image/Daniel Pockett
Burgoyne, 36, also responded on Instagram and Twitter, thanking Dangerfield for his public stance and describing the comment’s author as “just a coward sitting behind a keyboard”.

Betts also received support from former Port Adelaide skipper Travis Boak and the Power’s director of Aboriginal programs Paul Vandenbergh who just last week hosted Betts and more than 70 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players at the AFL’s Indigenous All Stars Summit.

A key pillar of the summit which included AFL chief executive Gil McLachlan was working with non-Aboriginal club officials to share with and educate them about their culture.

“We have to speak up because the day we don’t speak up for things that matter is the day our freedom truly ends. It starts with every single one of us drawing a line in the sand and saying enough is enough.” Vandenbergh wrote on Twitter.

We strongly condemn any form of racial vilification and consider such behaviour abhorrent and disgusting #weflyasone​

The Crows released a statement late on Saturday night saying “we strongly condemn any form of racial vilification and consider such behaviour abhorrent and disgusting”.

“An offensive social media comment directed at one of our players reinforces the need for everyone to play a role in eradicating racism from not just our game but the wider community,” it said.

Adelaide chief executive Andrew Fagan said it was “disturbing that racism still existed in football and society”.

“In listening to our playing group and our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players in particular, it is clear how damaging and impressive, inspirational racism is to them and their families,” Fagan said.

“Put simply it must stop and all of our players, coaches, staff and board are united in our stand against such cowardly behaviour.”

Last year, Betts was subjected to another racist comment on Instagram when a user wrote “why with a monkey” on a photo of him with a Fremantle fan in Perth, and in 2017 both he and Port Adelaide’s Paddy Ryder were racially abused during a Showdown at Adelaide Oval. In 2016 Betts also had a banana thrown at him during a Showdown.

 

[GROTTO]

https://www.afc.com.au/news/2019-02-23/response-to-social-media-comment

AFC Response to social media comment

The Adelaide Football Club strongly condemns any form of racial vilification and considers such behaviour abhorrent and disgusting.

An offensive social media comment directed at one of our players reinforces the need for everyone to play a role in eradicating racism from not just our game but the wider community.

Crows CEO Andrew Fagan said it was disturbing that racism still existed in football and society, adding that sport should be about bringing people together whether they be players, coaches, administrators or fans.

“In listening to our playing group and our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players in particular, it is clear how damaging and impactful racism is to them and their families,” Fagan said.

“Put simply, it must stop and all of our players, coaches, staff and Board are united in our stand against such cowardly behaviour.”

 

[cmndstab]

Sadly, it won't stop for at least a generation. Casual racism is very much alive in Australian culture and our generation has sadly missed the boat in stamping it out.

On a slightly petty note, it annoys me that people always bring up that Eddie is "such a likable guy" and that he "brings people so much joy" whenever this happens. That shouldn't make a difference. He could be a prick and it would still be equally unacceptable.

 

[Crow54]

There’s also a disgusting comment on another one of Eddie’s Instagram posts that I saw this morning. How disheartening it must be for Eddie and his family to know there are such vile people around, who delight in trolling his social media pages.

 

[hey shorty]

We are getting better as a society, but it's still not good enough. Social media allows pieces of excrement like that a voice and the ability to run like a coward.

 

[Crow54]

Is this what I think it is? Blaming Eddie for these sorts of comments??! Taken from the Port Power board. Victim blaming at its highest?

Now that everyone knows that Eddie bites, it’s very easy to anonymously lay bait. A vicious cycle that is unlikely to end.

 

[BRL121]

Is this what I think it is? Blaming Eddie for these sorts of comments??! Taken from the Port Power board. Victim blaming at its highest?

Now that everyone knows that Eddie bites, it’s very easy to anonymously lay bait. A vicious cycle that is unlikely to end.

I don't think this post is unreasonable. The reactions from the subject, the other posters, the AFC, the AFL, Patrick Dangerfield, etc., give these flogs exactly what they want, in some perverse way. Perhaps it might be better to ignore the disgusting provocations publicly, but pursue the offender privately. Report to police: I'm sure it would be reasonably simple to trace the offender and arrive on his doorstep with some direct reaction!

 

[Crow54]

I don't think this post is unreasonable. The reactions from the subject, the other posters, the AFC, the AFL, Patrick Dangerfield, etc., give these flogs exactly what they want, in some perverse way. Perhaps it might be better to ignore the disgusting provocations publicly, but pursue the offender privately. Report to police: I'm sure it would be reasonably simple to trace the offender and arrive on his doorstep with some direct reaction!

One can ignore some things, turn the other cheek and all that, but there comes a time when victims need to take a stand by publicly calling out these flogs. Unless we've walked a mile in Eddie's shoes, there's no way we can tell him how to react to situations like this.

 

[John Who]

I think the core issue isn’t just racism alone, but an issue of online trolling. It’s very easy for someone behind a keyboard to attack anyone and anytime, for the sake of a reaction. There are a bunch of narcissists, psychopaths and sociopaths out there who get twisted thrills out of others’ pain and angst.

Respond and they win. Ignore and they can attack further, or if they get bored, they pick a new outlet to attack. There is a deeper issue that needs to be addressed.

 

[FantasticShirt]

I think the core issue isn’t just racism alone, but an issue of online trolling. It’s very easy for someone behind a keyboard to attack anyone and anytime, for the sake of a reaction. There are a bunch of narcissists, psychopaths and sociopaths out there who get twisted thrills out of others’ pain and angst.

Respond and they win. Ignore and they can attack further, or if they get bored, they pick a new outlet to attack. There is a deeper issue that needs to be addressed.

Eddie wants these comments called out. Eddie has lived with this his whole life and he’s had enough. I’m happy to support him in his efforts.

 

[mistylake]

I don't think this post is unreasonable. The reactions from the subject, the other posters, the AFC, the AFL, Patrick Dangerfield, etc., give these flogs exactly what they want, in some perverse way. Perhaps it might be better to ignore the disgusting provocations publicly, but pursue the offender privately. Report to police: I'm sure it would be reasonably simple to trace the offender and arrive on his doorstep with some direct reaction!

Ignore a naughty child and they generally stop when they get bored.
But rather than get distracted
Maybe Eddie should report it to the club/AFL. Then they can track these dipshits down behind the scenes and actually do something about it, rather than have them quickly delete accounts and pop up under another name.

 

[Jars458]

These idiots must be named and shamed. It’s just not acceptable.

 

[Alwaysacrow]

I don't use Instagram personally and tbo don't know much about it. Can this flog be traced and identified? If so he should be publicly shamed for all to view. See how he likes it.

 

[Cromulent]

I don't use Instagram personally and tbo don't know much about it. Can this flog be traced and identified?

I did some poking around last night when I saw Eddie's Instagram post.

He's since deleted both his Instagram and Facebook accounts, and he didn't have a LinkedIn account from what I can see. Probably not employable anyway.. Both were set to private, so I got limited info unfortunately. He was definitely a Port supporter though. He didn't have the pages that he's liked hidden on Facebook. A whole bunch of Port fan/troll pages.

His Facebook profile picture seemed to be making fun of someone with Downs Syndrome, also.

Seems like an outstanding human being all round..

 

[John Who]

Eddie wants these comments called out. Eddie has lived with this his whole life and he’s had enough. I’m happy to support him in his efforts.

I never said Eddie should stay quiet. What he's done is good for the cause of anti-racism. I'm all for this.

My point though was not just about racism, but more the core issue of an ass being an ass due to the anonymity behind a computer screen and some twisted emotional gain/satisfaction from mentally hurting others.

If there's no Eddie, he could easily pick on a kid or a granny just as likely.

 

[headache1]

Sadly, it won't stop for at least a generation. Casual racism is very much alive in Australian culture and our generation has sadly missed the boat in stamping it out.

On a slightly petty note, it annoys me that people always bring up that Eddie is "such a likable guy" and that he "brings people so much joy" whenever this happens. That shouldn't make a difference. He could be a prick and it would still be equally unacceptable.

This. It reads as though he's earned the right to not be racially vilified because he's a good bloke and good at what he does.

 

[Rory Walkerfield]

I just don’t understand the motivation of people who feel compelled to do such terrible things. Is it a deep seated hatred for people who are “different” in their mind, a lack of relevance in their own lives so they are just lashing out for maximum effect or are there broader mental issues at play.

What possible good can come for anyone in such stupid and hurtful comments? I don’t even understand the benefit the person saying them derives. You can guarantee that this idiot will be publically outed and rightly so, and there will be a sob story and regret.

 

[FantasticShirt]

You are taking a very big leap that this idiot is employed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

He is employed. You can find his employer on his social media profile.

 

[cmndstab]

Calling it out is important. I understand that you don't want to feed a bully a reaction, but it's important in this case because so many people genuinely don't see it as a big issue.

It's easy to just disregard this person as a piece of scum, and in this case that is probably fair, but I know lots of otherwise wonderful people who just don't get how offensive their views on race are. The generation before mine (I'm in my mid 30s) is terrible for it. For many people it's just seen as banter, and people who get upset by it are just being "sensitive" or "can't take a joke". It doesn't help when you have first or second generation Australians proudly proclaiming that they/their parents were called Wogs or Gooks all the time and they just laughed it off, so other ethnic groups should just get over it.

For many of these people, it's just a bit of fun. They don't know, or care to learn about, the context or history of why calling black people monkeys is offensive. They're not aware that it has been used to dehumanize black people for generations, and even suggest that they are part of an inferior evolutionary lineage. I've heard otherwise good people say "well but they do look kinda like monkeys, right?" These same people don't see the issue with something like blackface. They're not being racist on purpose, they genuinely don't understand why it's so offensive. He'll, my own parents fall into this category, and I grew up thinking those views were acceptable too. That's why we need to call this kind of thing out when it happens, and the more high-profile a case, the better.

Australia is in desperate need of education on this issue. Just like we eventually learned that it's not cool to make fun of the disabled, and we're slowly learning that it's not cool to make fun of gay people, we also need to get the message out there that racial attacks are not cool either, particularly when directed towards ethnic groups that have been systematically discriminated against and placed behind the eight ball. If that means a few people need to be made examples of, so be it. Australians have proved for generations that they're not going to learn otherwise.

 

[StonesThrow]

He's going to be calling these people out as long as the internet exists. Even if all racism magically disappeared, we would still be seeing comments like this.

 

[brucetiki]

The sad thing is there's several people (predominantly baby boomer generation or faceless trolls) responding to the articles on this incident that either think this is a non-story, Eddie just wanting attention, or actually supporting the moron that made the comment.

Just shows that we're a long way away from eradicating racism in our society.

 

[FantasticShirt]

He's going to be calling these people out as long as the internet exists. Even if all racism magically disappeared, we would still be seeing comments like this.

I don’t understand your point at all? If racism ceased to exist how would there be racist comments being made?

 

[StonesThrow]

I don’t understand your point at all? If racism ceased to exist how would there be racist comments being made?

You should be aware of trolls by now

 

[jenny61_99]

Eddie wants these comments called out. Eddie has lived with this his whole life and he’s had enough. I’m happy to support him in his efforts.

Do you remember Adam Goodes response to the 13 year old girl? He’d heard the words... and turned in disappointment... AGAIN.... and then saw it was a teenager and his heart broke. So many people called his reaction an “over reaction” when in reality, it was that last straw. He probably expects it from adults.... hard to break a lifetime of bad habits, but a kid? This just indicated to him that it’s going to continue for at least another generation.

Walk a mile in their shoes.....

 

[relapse]

I've seen what is perhaps one of the dumbest comments I have ever seen on Bigfooty.

I am not going to call out who it was, but I think you can guess which club they support.

Not only do they make a ridiculous insinuation that the comment may have been "staged" (which only an intellectual simpleton would believe), but they then go on to try and dismiss it by trying to compare it to the Kane Cornes comment.