Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire says he would “do anything possible” to resolve the Magpies’ broken relationship with several former stars.
On Wednesday, Collingwood premiership-winner Heritier Lumumba took to social media to confirm he and ex-teammates Leon Davis and Andrew Krakouer had informed the Magpies they would cut all communication with the club.
Lumumba, who played 199 games with Collingwood from 2005-14, has been outspoken in his criticism of the club since finishing his stint there in 2015. He has on many occasions detailed instances of racism he claims he endured during his time at the club.
The accusations of systemic racism at Collingwood were vindicated by the ‘Do Better’ report that rocked the club and prompted the resignation of McGuire in 2021.
In a new twist to the saga, Lumumba took to Twitter to claim his former club hasn’t changed in the 15 months since the report called for reform.
“It doesn’t surprise me because I know there’s been discussions, and I had them when I was still the president,” McGuire said on Nine’s Footy Classified.
“The ‘Do Better’ report was a deep dive… there’s been a 12-month review of that. They said there was systematic issues – that there was a system breakdown.
“Now Collingwood is the only club that has a 15-person multicultural task force that is there. Jodie Sizer is the vice president of the club, she was involved in the reconciliation action plan before she came onto the board, and is now the vice president. I think there are a lot of things there.
https://twitter.com/iamlumumba/status/1514011366306115588
“I hope these three greats of the club come back to the club and have a truth-telling session, and get to a resolution. That’s what everyone wants.”
Lumumba first spoke about his treatment at the club in 2017.
At that time, he revealed in a documentary that he was nicknamed “Chimp” by his teammates and club, while also criticising Collingwood for failing to deal with issues of racism.
McGuire said he’s prepared to do anything he can to bring the three players back to the club.
“Everyone wants this to be resolved and to move forward and do things. Not to move away because that’s the easy thing to say,” McGuire added.
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“I have [reached out to the players] over the journey, but I’m out of Collingwood now.
“If I can help at all, and certainly with these three champions – all of them I’ve been close friends that I’ve looked after over the years – of course, I would do anything possible to try and help everyone get to a position.
“Our hearts break when we see these things.”
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