Heritier Lumumba has hit out at Collingwood again in the wake of Eddie McGuire’s resignation as president

Heritier Lumumba has taken to social media to declare revelations the nickname “The chimp” appearing under his name in an AFL record profile was “proof” the nickname he says so many at Collingwood have denied existed was real.

In a 15-part message on Twitter Lumumba, who has taken legal action against Collingwood as part of a bitter, longstanding fight for the club to recognise it’s racist treatment of him and others, Lumumba lashed outgoing president Eddie McGuire’s farewell speech as “even worse than his last press conference.”

Lumumba said McGuire, who resigned in the face of overwhelming pressure after the release of the “Do Better” report uncovered systemic racism existed at Collingwood, was in denial.

“Eddie McGuire’s final speech as CFC president was somehow even worse than his last press conference. Denial, delusion and a complete inability to admit fault,” he posted on Twitter.

“He couldn’t help lying, again. The ‘CFC Do Better’ report was not a ‘response to the Black Lives Matter movement’, as McGuire suggested. CFC themselves announced the review was commissioned ”following accounts of racism made by Heritier Lumumba.”

“CFC as an institution is in the same position it was in before Eddie left. There has still been no proper response to the report. Now the club has the further burden of responding to Eddie’s parting comments. Do they accept his assertion that CFC is “not a racist club”?

“CFC is a massive institution. There’s no doubt that a lot of good philanthropic work has happened. But as the report states: “racism at the Club has resulted in profound and enduring harm to First Nations and African players.” One does not erase the other.

“The club cannot simply use Eddie’s departure to say they are moving on without addressing the extra damage he has caused in the last two weeks alone. Let’s not forget the report states that CFC’s racism has “set dangerous norms for the public.”

“Board members have been trying to spin the report publicly, saying it was not about ‘individual instances.’ Part of the report clearly details a timeline of major instances of racism. This needs to stop now.

“Now is the time for transparency, honesty and action”, as the report suggests. Otherwise, the Collingwood brand will simply never recover. Even their own players and sponsors don’t have confidence in it now.

“If CFC thinks they can just wait this out and move on with whatever symbolic racial equality measures they have planned, think again. These measures will never be taken seriously. The people whey appoint to these positions will not be taken seriously.”

Responding to the old AFL Record appearing online, and being circulated among McGuire supporters, Lumumba said he never denied “going along” with the nickname of chimp.

1/ Eddie McGuire’s final speech as CFC president was somehow even worse than his last press conference. Denial, delusion and a complete inability to admit fault.

“A 2007 player profile that was published by CFC & the AFL has my nickname listed as ‘chimp’. Ever since I went public in 2017 with my experience, I’ve been consistent in saying that I initially went along with the nickname & a lot of other racist behaviour in order to fit in,” he said.

“The document is proof that the nickname did indeed exist and was widely known in the club. Some people are trying to use it as a means to discredit me, without realising that it‘s damning evidence that works against CFC and the AFL.

“The #DoBetter report states that “structural racism occurs not through individual action but through policy, institutional culture, representations in media, laws, conversational norms and normalised behaviours.

“Player records were printed by the tens of thousands and distributed at games. How many people in leadership approved of this?

“While the nickname ‘chimp’ was overtly racist, sadly it was far from the worst thing that happened. Some things that were said and done resulted in verbal and physical altercations. When I began to formally address the club’s racism, I was punished by the club’s leadership.”

Lumumba also hit out at defence fromAFL boss Gillon McLachlan and former league chief Andrew Demetriou for supporting McGuire.

“It is no surprise that McGuire’s friends – current and former AFL CEOs Gillon McLachlan and Andrew Demetriou, have jumped to Eddie’s defence. Admitting his incompetence means admitting their ow,” he said.

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