Port Adelaide halfback Karl Amon has fought back tears when discussing how difficult it is for Indigenous AFL players to deal with racism.
Speaking after Carlton icon Eddie Betts announced his retirement from the game, Amon echoed the 34-year-old’s sentiment that the league was not “safe” for Indigenous players.
“It’s been pretty challenging to be honest. I think Eddie Betts has been running that mostly and he’s a large voice for the Indigenous players across the competition,” a visibly emotional Amon said when asked about dealing with racism.
“You would have seen [Betts’] interview on AFL360 and it touches the heart a little bit. Yeah, it’s been pretty tough.”
Like Betts, Amon also suggested that education around racism was the way forward.
“I think we cop it together and unfortunately for Eddie he’s the sort of face of the response,” he said.
“The sooner we can educate people and move on from this and really call out what happens, the better the AFL will be and future Indigenous boys will feel more comfortable coming into the system.
“Young kids coming through may not feel safe and you know they may wonder if this happens to me how am I going to react and all that kind of stuff.
“I think, for Eddie, what he touched on is spot on and I guess as senior Indigenous players of the league if we can change this around for young kids coming through and make them feel more comfortable then it’s going to be a step in the right direction.”