Cats plan to show support for Black Lives Matter movement
Geelong vice captain Patrick Dangerfield has urged Australians to learn more about the land on which they stand and what it means to Indigenous people as players across the AFL plan to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement when games return this weekend.
Dangerfield, who is also the Players' Association president, said Quinton Narkle, a Wajuk/ Balardong man from Western Australia, had emphasised the importance of what was happening around the world to his Cats teammates.
Patrick Dangerfield said it was important that support for the Black Lives Matter movement be more than tokenistic.Credit:Getty Images
He said the club and players across the competition were determined that their gesture of support translated into something ongoing and the issue was everyone's responsibility.
"There is a fair bit in the works in order to do it properly and to make sure it's not just a one off, but it is something that really garners support but also ongoing education," Dangerfield said.
"We're certainly supportive of that as a football club. We have some really passionate young Indigenous players and we need to make sure we are educating our community better than what we currently do."
Geelong's Indigenous welfare officer Mathew Stokes is a critical component at the Cats although he has been reduced to part-time hours as a result of the COVID-19 shutdown. The Indigenous programs at many clubs are in hiatus at the moment due to reduced budgets.
AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said last week he expected the clubs to take the lead when it came to putting resources into vital programs.
Dangerfield, who plays his 250th game on Friday night, said the exact detail of what players would do was still being worked through but he considered it a step on a longer journey.
"When I was going to school [at Oberon High in Geelong] I didn't learn anything about the Wathaurong, who are the lands on which we stand now. We are doing a far better job but it can improve greatly ... I'd urge everyone to learn more about the land on which we stand and it what it means to our Indigenous peoples and we need to do better than we currently do," Dangerfield said.
He said it was incumbent on everyone, regardless of their background and cultural heritage, to educate themselves and support people who regularly confronted the reality of racism.
"As an AFL community it is something we all take really seriously ... can we improve it and how can it not be tokenistic? How can it be something ongoing we facilitate and really drive real change within all Australians. That is incumbent on all of us," Dangerfield said.
Meanwhile Dangerfield said the Cats understood the importance of getting off to a good start against Hawthorn having lost the first game against Greater Western Sydney. He was unclear whether Jack Steven will play.