Phil Krakouer and his brother Jim were among the game’s biggest stars for North Melbourne during the 1980s and, along with six other players, approached the class action lawyers to take on the case.
Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney, AFL legend Michael Long and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during Michael Long’s anniversary Long Walk, in Canberra on Thursday 14 September 2023. Alex Ellinghausen
“For decades … people of colour have been racially abused while playing AFL, and we feel the AFL sat back and watched it all go by,” Krakouer said in a statement.
“I was a 22-year-old kid who tried out for the big league. I was completely naive and full of dreams. The AFL allowed us to be abused and traumatised. Sorry doesn’t cut it.”