Fremantle legend Dave Mundy has condemned the “disgusting” racist abuse sent to two of his teammates through social media after their AFL win over St Kilda on Saturday.
Indigenous forward Michael Walters, and teammate Michael Frederick, who is of South Sudanese descent, were both subjected to vile messages online from a football follower.
The pair shared screenshots of the messages from their Instagram accounts on Monday night.
“The s*** you have to put up with after a game of football,” Walters posted with his screenshot.
“After every game I’m sick of opening my socials to uneducated messages like this.
“Take a hard look at yourselves.”
Frederick, who kicked three goals in the 41-point win over St Kilda, said the racist messages are “what you cop from a low life”.
On Wednesday, Mundy recalled a conversation he had with Walters soon after the incident.
“When I brought it up with him, you could see his whole physical demeanour change as he was talking to me about it,” he told Clairsy & Ryan Daniels.
“The most worrying, or the saddest, thing about it for me is that he said he cops that kind of stuff almost every week.
“So, you’re out there for two-and-a-half hours, fighting your guts out for your team and your club and you come into that kind of stuff, it’s disgusting and quite confronting.”
“I get a few every now and again about, like, ruining guys multi’s and things like that, but yeah, what they copped – and what many guys cop throughout the league – it’s really disgusting.”
Ryan Daniels also vented frustration from a journalist’s point-of-view.
“Working in a newsroom – the guy who sent these messages – we know his name, we know his face, but we can’t publicise that for legal reasons,” he said.
“To me, it feels like he kind of gets away with it, that’s what really bugs me. Why does he get a pass, when these two guys now have to take this upon their shoulders, that’s what really annoys me.”
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Earlier in the week, Dockers chief executive Simon Garlick released a statement saying that online abuse would not be tolerated on any level and that the club was working through the matter with the player’s wellbeing and support taking priority.
Fremantle have since reported the matter to the AFL.
