Betts pleads for action as AFL probes racist abuse of Kysaiah Pickett after Perth game

Carlton veteran Eddie Betts has pleaded with the AFL and broader public to call out racism after West Australian-raised Melbourne star Kysaiah Pickett was racially abused online following his club’s win against West Coast at Optus Stadium in Perth on Monday night.

The Demons issued a statement on Tuesday supporting the 20-year-old after he was targeted in social media posts.

The club said it reported the incident to the AFL Integrity Unit, which would now investigate the incident and those involved.

Pickett, raised in the WA country town of Quairading, kicked a superb goal after the siren to put Melbourne ahead by three points at half-time.

Blues star Betts has long campaigned against racism but broke down on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Tuesday night discussing former Crows teammate Taylor Walker’s recent racist remarks against SANFL player Robbie Young, and the abuse against Pickett in Perth.

The 34-year-old became visibly upset before urging all Australians to join the former Adelaide captain on a “journey” to understand racism and its effects on Indigenous Australians.

“I’m sick of it, I’m sick of fighting, it’s draining,” said Betts, who also revealed he had again been hurt by racist abuse online in the past fortnight alone.

“I’ve been on this show last year pouring my heart out, begging, hoping Australia would listen, and it’s hard.

“We need to start having those conversations in the workplace, in the schooling - the only way we’re going to move together as one is we start educating ourselves. I can’t do it ... I can’t.

“People sitting on your couches â€" start those conversations at home, start it with your friends, your families, call out racism when you see it because there’s no room for racism in Australia and we as Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people are sick of fighting.

“We are sick of it because it just keeps happening and happening and happening and happening, and I’m tired guys, I honestly am. I said to a lot of the Indigenous boys that it’s getting to me, it really is.

Kysaiah Pickett in action against West Coast on Monday night in Perth.Credit:Getty Images

“And I’ll keep fighting no matter what, no matter how emotional I get, no matter how drained I am, I’ll fight â€" I’ll fight for my people, I’ll fight for the next generation of young Aboriginal kids that are coming in to play AFL footy, to make this a safe place for us to come and enjoy the game that we love.”

Melbourne has reported the abuse of Pickett, the No.12 draft pick who debuted last year, to the AFL’s Integrity Unit and said the hurt and trauma caused by racism had once again been at the forefront of the game in recent times.

“Despite the best efforts of many, we continue to see people subjected to racial abuse on the football field, in the stands and increasingly, on social media,” the Demons said in a statement.

“We have heard so many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people talk about the pain, the hurt, the exhaustion and the anger inflicted by racism. This is not okay; we must do better.

“It is not enough to simply condemn racism when it occurs, we must work as a club, an industry and as individuals to be anti-racist, and to educate those around us on how they too can play a proactive role in stamping out racism.”

Melbourne said its staff would this week watch powerful documentary The Ripple Effect on St Kilda legend and proud WA Noongar man Nicky Winmar’s generation-defining stand against racism at Victoria Park in 1993, and encouraged everyone to do the same.

Betts has faced racism on social media and on the field, both at Carlton and the Crows, where he played under Walker before re-joining the Blues last season.

Former Adelaide captain Walker has been suspended for six weeks, ordered to take more education programs and donate $20,000 to an Indigenous program in South Australia, with the 31-year-old’s future in the AFL now at the crossroads.

David Prestipino writes about sports and lifestyle for WAtoday.

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