Everitt reflective on his shameful outburstTEN years ago, Scott Chisholm was coming to terms with being cut from Fremantle and making a go of things in far away Melbourne.
Chisholm was an inaugural Dockers squad member in 1995 and was one of the game's more intriguing players, with his unorthodox kicking style and his sheer hair-raising tactics deep in the backline. But the fun didn't last at Freo.
After 63 games with the Dockers, Chisholm joined Melbourne and began what would turn out to be a largely frustrating two-season stint with the Demons. In just his second game for his new club, Chisholm was racially abused by then St Kilda ruckman Peter Everitt.
There was sledging between the players, then Everitt taunted Chisholm over his mouthguard, which was coloured in red, black and yellow, the colours of the Aboriginal flag. The situation escalated and Everitt called Chisholm a 'black c...'.
Everitt was reported and fined $20,000. He later suspended himself for four games and undertook a social awareness program. The chapter was covered in
The Australian Game of Football, released last year to celebrate the game's 150th anniversary.
Regrettably, the paragraph covering that incident replaces Chisholm with North Melbourne's Winston Abraham. In it, co-author, Sydney co-captain Adam Goodes, writes:
"Yet something died inside (Chisholm), who channelled his people and frustration a couple of years later when interviewed for the documentary,
AFL: Not Just A Game.
'It turned me off football, it turned me off where I wanted to be,' (Chisholm) said. 'But you have to take it and fight it because if you don't fight it, it's going to happen to some other young boy who has never faced vilification that I did that day'."
To his credit, Everitt apologised when announcing his self-imposed suspension. Now he wants to do it again, this time in print. Everitt, who retired last year after 291 games with three AFL clubs, is penning an autobiography and is addressing the issue head on. He is touring the country and said his visits to Indigenous communities in Western Australia and the Northern Territory has made him aware of the true gravity of what he said that day.
"There are always certain things that you would like to change about your career, and that's the one that stands out for me," he said. "That experience (visiting Indigenous communities) taught me a lot. It was maybe one of the driving forces in me going up there."
Chisholm played 17 games for Melbourne in 1999, but just one the following year -- in Round 1. He left the AFL after the 2000 season and returned to the WAFL to play for South Fremantle.
DARREN MONCRIEFF
Darren@AboriginalFootball.com.au
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Last Modified on 24/03/2009 21:39