Salisbury North coach Eugene Warrior. Source: News Limited
THE full interview between Jesper Fjeldstad and Eugene Warrior on racism and more.
JF: How does the whole thing make you feel?
EW: I guess disappointed. I thought the Indigenous Round of the AFL was indicative of that. With Adam (Goodes) ... you would have thought we'd all moved on from that. All the articles that (say) ``Racism Stops with Me'' and that there's no room for it in sport anymore. You wish people are old enough to think about what comes out of their mouth but I guess some people don't think before they speak and they have to deal with the consequences. I think everybody, including myself, have said things that they probably regret during their lifetime. I think I was just so disappointed after what Adam did and then the Eddie McGuire skit. Majak Daw had his little piece as well. You think, ``Oh well, it only happens in the AFL,'' but no it doesn't: it happens down at the grassroots level as well. I was just more disappointed and unfortunately I couldn't do anything at the time, because I was coaching and I didn't want that to distract my players. If they had seen me upset it might have rattled them a bit. The coach has to be pretty cool, calm and collected. At the moment, they've written a letter of apology. But it needed to come out. It doesn't just happen at the high grade. But everyone has done the right thing now.
JF: What was said, Eugene?EW: I was called a black c--t from a supporter and the last I heard, I was told that told that the gentleman was a firefighter.
JF: I don't know if I'd call him a gentleman.
EW: I'm being nice.
JF: You're being very diplomatic.
EW: I don't want to stoop down to other people's level.
JF: Has it improved? When was the first time you were you can remember, as a young footballer, that you were racially vilified, or abused, or taunted whatever you want to call it?
EW: The first time was in primary school down at Millicent. Back in 1993 was the first time racial vilification came
into prominence, I guess, through the AFL saying we're not going to tolerate this. I had a lot of non-Indigenous mates and they sort of stuck up for me. It happened two or three times down there and mates started to jump in. Then, I reckon, the next time was when I played under-17s footy against Norwood, when I was playing for Port Adelaide. I copped it from the two eastern suburbs teams, actually, Norwood and Sturt. Back then I didn't say anything or retaliate. I may have played better footy. You sit there and you think, ``If I was playing bad footy, would they say anything? But I was playing good footy.'' They were trying to put me off my game and it didn't work. Other than that it was a couple of times in 1993 playing junior footy. There was one I actually didn't report we dealt with it internally when I was at Norwood and we were playing South Adelaide. That one was put to bed straight away. Then back in 2001, you'd know a gentleman by the name of (name withheld for legal reasons). That went to mediation and was sorted out within two or three days. I guess I've got pretty thick skin because I was exposed to it from a young age. Even when my old man played, it used to fly out of car windows when he was playing country footy.
JF: But it's not right, mate.
EW: I know that. I think it was a way to put him off. At the end of the day, they're stating the obvious. It's not like I don't realise that I'm black. But what gives you the right to say it anyway?
JF: A bit like somebody losing the verbal and going the knuckle? A cheap version of trying to win the game? The difference being that it hurts people?
EW: Yeah. I guess on Saturday I was more disappointed than hurt. Because while he stated the obvious, I thought we had moved on from this.
JF: How do we fix this? Make people realise that it affects people?
EW: It's a hard one. If they're not culturally diverse, outside of work, if they don't have black friends or Italian friends it might make it hard to understand. You might not understand that calling somebody a ``wog'' might hurt somebody. For me, since 2001, I thought things had become better. But then the Goodes thing comes up and the McGuire thing I hope there's not another one. Do you expose the person who said it? That's just going to ridicule them, like that 13-year-old girl. But it's about education and how they're brought up at home. But this bloke (who insulted me), he's a 40-year-old. If he's got kids or nieces and nephews what is he teaching them?
JF: Bigger concern: you don't want young Aboriginal lads not wanting to play football because their worried about being taunted or picked on. What do you think?
EW: That's right. I grew up going to a school, a primary school with no indigenous kids. Might have been one (other) in high school but then at Port Adelaide, we had the luxury that we might have one or two. But Che (Cockatoo-Collins) had already moved on, (Gavin) Wanganeen had already moved on. I was just in the next wave, waiting for guys like Peter Burgoyne, Andrew McLeod and then I had a short stint with Peter, Shaun (Burgoyne, Graham (Johncock), Aaron and Alwyn Davey, Ricky O'Loughlin. So those sort of guys came through. But it was always just every now and then you played with those boys. It would have been nice to have more Aboriginal players around. These days there are different and better pathways. But at the Crows, guys like Andrew Jarman, Chris McDermott, Stephen Rowe ... I was accepted. I wasn't judged by my skin colour and I was treated like everybody else. It was what I wanted. I never wanted everything different.
JF: What do you learn from all of this? You're coaching the Flying Boomerangs (Australian under-15 Indigenous team) and what do you tell them?
EW: Yeah, coaching the Boomerangs is a big gig. Ricky O'Loughlin's done it, Andrew McLeod's done it, Chris Johnson, Raph Clarke. I got the gig this year. So I'm coaching some of the best Indigenous men in the country and if I can have an impact it would be fantastic. If it came up, I'd tell them to ignore it. Be the stronger person and think, ``You've just lowered your colours.'' Some people say it to be heroes, around their mates, and some say it to try to get a laugh. Or they try to embarrass a person. But I think the only person that's embarrassed is the person who yelled out the comment. But don't go the biff. Just be the stronger person. I'm sure some of the Aboriginal boys I coach have copped it. You're always going to have that.
JF: Does it still cut you up a bit when it happens?
EW: It does. You sit there and think why. The focus then comes on me, because people want to see what sort of reaction I'm going to have. But I've got 21 blokes I've got to look after on the footy field and I've got to make sure my message to them is clear. It does hurt but for me, I've been exposed to it for a long time and I've got pretty thick skin. I copped it again on Saturday night, at an engagement party. I thought to myself: ``Twice in the space of six hours''. Guy tried to be a hero and said a few things in front of a few people. I thought to myself: ``Are you kidding me?'' I waited and spoke to him outside. Said: ``Look, you haven't got the right to say that sort of stuff.'' As I say with all things it doesn't matter whether I'm speaking to my players or family everybody's got a breaking point and sooner or later, there will be a breaking point and somebody will snap one day. For me, twice in six hours ... but both have been resolved now.
JF: You have a daughter now, Jadaisha, whom you refer to as 10 going on 21. How would you be if she was put in that situation?
EW: It's funny because she's at primary school and she's starting to get darker in her complexion. Every now and then I pick her up or drop her off at school and people will look at me and go, ``Oh, Jadaisha's got a black dad''. I heard one girl say it: ``who's that?''. But that's just kids saying what they say and I don't see the need to tell them to watch their manners. It's for their parents. But if she did cop it, I'd be disgusted. But at least I can speak to her about my things that I've had to endure. I've spoken to her a couple of times about it, what to do if she gets called names at school. But I would be disappointed if it happens.
JF: Cut you up, surely?
EW: I don't know how I'd react. There are different forms of angriness. If they said something bad, I'd be right down to the school.
JF: What do you say to this sentiment: Eugene Warrior is a yapper who has a go at the umpires from the sidelines - why can't he cop it himself.
EW: I'm not being racial. I know that I'm a coach and being held to higher standards than supporters, but what's the difference to me, within reason, asking the umpires to pull their head in or ask what their looking at. I know I wear my heart on my sleave when I coach.
