Fremantle has doubled down in its condemnation of the racism directed at the Dockers’ Michael Walters and Michael Frederick.
Fremantle president Dale Alcock has blasted the racism perpetrated against the pair on social media at the weekend, saying in an ABC radio interview he was “appalled”.
Alcock’s comments follow those of Fremantle chief executive Simon Garlick, who labelled the attacks “hurtful” and “cowardly” in a club statement, and a Dockers social media post that called the racism “vile”.
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“These are two very outstanding young men who play the game for our club and members and supporters, and then they’ve got to endure this post-game, so they’re gutted,” Alcock said on ABC radio.
He also lauded the way in which the duo’s teammates had responded to the racism.
“The playing group — they’re a very tight group, a very respectful and very inclusive group,” Alcock said.
“That’s the culture that we’ve grown within the club, so it’s extremely powerful when your teammates immediately go to work in support.
“With racism we have a long way to go, and I think what the players are demonstrating is that racism stops with all of us. It’s on all of us to stop it here and stop it now.”
Alcock says it’s vital the club takes the matter in the direction Walters and Frederick want.
He also revealed it had been reported to the AFL’s integrity unit, the eSafety commissioner and Western Australian Police.
“We’ve got a long (multicultural) history (at Fremantle),” Alcock added.
“Michael Walters has played 194 games. He’ll become our 12th player to get to 200 games and our fourth indigenous player alongside Antoni Grover, Michael Johnson and Stephen Hill.
“In our 27 years, there’s been around 2400 games played by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people. That’s approximately 620 more than the next AFL club in the 125-year history of AFL-VFL.
“We’ve got a pretty staggering history to date and I think that’s what our Purple Army is supportive of, it’s what our club is about, it’s who we are and it’s what we are.
“From a Fremantle perspective, we’ve done a lot, we’ll continue to do a lot and there’s a lot more for us to do.”
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