Fremantle Football Club - Supporting anti-racist action
Explore how Fremantle Football Club implements anti-racist practices, builds cultural inclusion, and fosters belonging in professional sports.
Summary
The Fremantle Football Club, also known as the Dockers, is an Australian Rules Club competing in the Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Women’s Competition (AFLW). The team was founded in 1994 to represent the city of Fremantle, Western Australia, and currently employs 108 people.
Fremantle and anti-racism
What began as a discrete call out from the Fremantle Football Club to an individual who did not reflect the values or ideals of the Club, became a very powerful message played out nationally.
In July 2020, the Fremantle Dockers along with a number of other Clubs advised they would ‘take a knee’ prior to the game in support of the #blacklivesmatter movement.
A Twitter user and Club member tweeted that he would cancel his two $900 memberships if “our boys” took a knee.
The Club swiftly responded to the tweet with “We are sorry you feel that way. One of our membership services representatives will call you shortly to process your refund.”
From there, thousands of football supporters from across the country reached out to applaud the move.
One man’s comments which set out to divide had the opposite effect.
It united so many people who were proud to see such poor commentary called out and that even in a time of economic crisis due to Covid-19, values were placed ahead of profits.
Michael Walters comments
Fremantle star Michael Walters made the following comments in response to the matter:
“We need to keep calling it out because it is the only way people will learn that we’re here to stay. We aren’t going anywhere.”
“The way the club handled it, but also the whole of the competition, to go about it that way is a massive credit to them.”
More information is available at: https://www.fremantlefc.com.au/
