Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has acknowledged that there are areas the club must improve on in the wake of the 'Do Better' report, which found the Magpies guilty of "systemic racism".
The report was leaked last month in a tumultuous period for Collingwood, leading to Eddie McGuire's early resignation as president after 22 years in the role.
Buckley admits that he was "dismissive" of premiership defender Heritier Lumumba's claims of racism, which ultimately led to 'Do Better' report being commissioned.
Former Magpies Leon Davis and Andrew Krakouer have also spoken out on their own experiences of racism at the Magpies.
Speaking to AFL Media, Buckley said the club had to be better moving forward and more aware of the nature of "systemic racism".
“In the end we've seen Heritier, Leon (Davis) and now Andrew (Krakouer) who have spoken from the heart about their experiences. I have a personal reflection. There was a press conference I gave in 2017 when Heritier's documentary came out,” Buckley said.
“I wasn't able to separate myself from the personal connection and the potential feeling of not having been able to have done enough in that circumstance to lift myself out of that to see the bigger picture which is that what Heritier's talking about, what Leon's talking about, what Andrew has spoken about, is their experience. Where they want to be and what we want the place to be – we're united in that.
“We don't want people to ever feel like they're diminished or vilified or seen as less than in our environment. If that is their experience then it needs to be acknowledged and for that I think the club has said it apologises unreservedly and obviously I have been a part of this club for a long time so I don't like the fact that people have felt that way and I've got to – we've all got to – listen and learn more to the experiences and acknowledge them rather than dismissing them.
"There was a presser when I look back in 2017 and it was dismissive and I needed to be better than that."
Coming out-of-contract and entering his 10th season in charge of the Pies, Buckley said the findings of the 'Do Better' report was a key learning experience for himself and the club.
While Buckley believes the Magpies' environment has made "good strides' in recent years, he acknowledges that the education process surrounding racism is an ongoing one.
"What I now understand is that is a form of systemic racism, the dismissing and denial of experience is not a direct act but in many ways it reinforces the pain and trauma that Heritier felt and that Andrew and Leon have spoken about. It's feeling like they don't have a voice and they don't have somewhere to go and that's the systemic aspect of it," he said.
"When you reflect on that you [think] 'OK, how can we do this better?' because you've got to be aware and conscious of it, and there's a lot of listening [to] and learning [from] that needs to take place from the people that have felt for a long time that they don't have a voice. I feel like we've taken pretty good strides as a club.
"Our internal environment has improved but clearly there's still work to do and as I said, it's not about my experience, it's not about anyone's experience from a white privileged background, it's actually about hearing the experiences of people who feel like they're not being honoured the way they should be."
Reflecting on McGuire's exit, who had been at the club since Buckley first joined them as a player in 1994, the Magpies coach acknowledged that some of his public comments were ill-suited.
"The more you put yourself in this position [in front of a microphone], the more likely you are to say something that's not quite going to hit the mark and I think that was one of them," Buckley said of the comments.
"He's owned that, we've owned that, and once again that reinforces potentially the trauma that Indigenous people or minorities have felt through the Collingwood Football Club's contribution. That simply has to stop now."
Buckley said McGuire personified Collingwood and was confident that his legacy had not been tarnished.
“He's either loved or hated. There's not a lot in between with Ed, and I think that's been a Collingwood way,” he said.
“I think we have modified that in the last three or four years, we don't chest-beat as much, we're generally more open and transparent and willing to learn and listen and to grow, and to impact as positively as we possibly can.
“But there's years of a character that has been portrayed for Collingwood, and by Collingwood, so I understand that's a reality.
“Ed's probably fed into that in some ways and been a victim of it in others but the reality is to take our steps forward as an organisation we need to be more circumspect. We need to understand that we don't know it all, that we can be a leader in society let alone in the football industry.”
