Port Adelaide accused of using “stolen design” for Indigenous jumper

Port Adelaide has been accused of approving a stolen design from an Indigenous artist for their 2021 Indigenous Round guernsey, leading to an investigation into the matter.

South Australian artist Elle Campbell has claimed that the design used for the jumper is "my exact painting" that she not only posted online on her Instagram account (@elle_campbell), but also displayed at an exhibition as far back as May 2019.

"Wow. This is MY painting, someone has submitted it as their own and PAFC are using it for their guernsey." she posted on social media last night, going on to say "Not just similarities, its my exact painting."

"98weeks ago on my story if anyones wondering. This was up at Flinders Medical Centre for an exhibition on the 28th May 2019." Campbell continued by tagging the Port Adelaide Football Club in the story before finishing up by saying "I am deeply hurt by the use of this painting and the "artist" claiming this work to be their own."

"The meaning behind this painting was of my families ancestral burial ground at Kingston S.E. and the connection we still have with the native flora and fauna on those lands. My mother had sent me a photo of some Kangaroos coming out from the scrub to go have a dip in the water which was the inspiration for this painting."

The claims were shared on Twitter by user @taylahjade_, who posted several screenshots of Campbell's Instagram stories where the initial claims were made.

The jumper design was picked by Port Adelaide after a competition in which high school students were asked "to design a guernsey that represents their family, culture and heritage," according to 7News.

They report that the teenager who won the competition last year said she had spent months painting it after being inspired by designs she came across on Instagram.

The club have since released a statement less than 48 hours after unveiling the guernsey and associated merchandise.

"Port Adelaide is aware of the allegations that surfaced on social media last night regarding the design of its Indigenous guernsey for the upcoming Sir Doug Nicholls Round... The club is investigating the allegations and will not make further comment until it has all the information at hand," the statement reads.

This is not the first time that accusations of this nature have been levelled at Port Adelaide, with a designer claiming that the club ripped off his design for their new club logo back in 2019.

In a year when Port Adelaide have featured heavily in the news due to their clashes with Collingwood over the prison bar guernsey, this latest revelation presents another unwanted off-field distraction for the club at a time where they are seriously challenging for a premiership.