Heritier Lumumba appears to have ended his long-running feud with the Collingwood Football Club, but not before releasing two more pieces of audio from his time there.
Lumumba once again took to his Twitter account to release files which allegedly feature conversations with then-coach Nathan Buckley and list manager Derek Hine in a bid to prove that he’d been forced out of the club at the end of 2014 – a week after his initial leak of alleged conversations with Buckley.
The 35-year-old said he was providing the recording to “make it clear that I was pushed out of the club”.
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“They made it clear that they had made their decision (and) that my only choice was to retire or be traded,” he tweeted.
“It was made clear to me that my decision to challenge the club’s culture would simply not be tolerated.”
Lumumba followed the two new tapes with a statement which seems to indicate that he will be moving on.
“It brings me a great sense of peace (and) fulfilment to close this chapter (and) confidently walk away having taken this issue as far as it has gone,” the statement read.
“Throughout the years, there has only ever been one mission: to tell (and) defend my truth. The evidence released has only been because individuals have continually undermined the severity of the harm I experienced during my time at CFC, as well as the findings of the ‘Do Better’ report.
“Since the release of the ‘Do Better’ report, CFC officials have been at pains to avoid anyone taking responsibility for the club’s serious cultural failures. Systemic problems are not accidental – they are the result of inadequate leadership.
“I’ve been trying to close this chapter since 2017, but repeated dishonesty, misconduct, and the refusal of CFC figures past (and) present to admit simple facts has dragged this out. I will always reserve the right to defend myself, especially after working so hard to overcome being systematically slandered and discredited by the club (and) its representatives. They will now have to bear the burden of what they tried to deny for all these years, and face the reality that they were unable to rectify things despite every opportunity to do so.”
Despite his apparent animosity towards the club itself, Lumumba thanked the Collingwood fans who had supported him over the years.
“I have grown on this journey – and the adversity has sharpened me in every way conceivable. I’d like to take the opportunity to thank all the people who have supported me over the years, particularly Collingwood fans. I know it’s difficult to continually have the club you love associated with racism, but your understanding of what is needed to improve the issue has been greatly appreciated.
“With less than two weeks before I become a father again, closing this chapter and releasing this burden has come at the perfect time.”