HERITIER Lumumba says he was proud of the way Melbourne supported Sydney Swans superstar Adam Goodes last week.
Speaking to melbournefc.com.au, Lumumba said while he was delighted to achieve a victory over his former club Collingwood at the MCG, he was pleased with the way the red and blue got behind the dual premiership player and two-time Brownlow Medal winner.
“The thing that made this win special to me was the way in which the football club conducted itself in light of what was dominating the topic of the nation, almost – in regards to what was happening with Adam Goodes,” he said.
“The way our football club represented itself throughout the course of the week and particularly on match day was extremely pleasing to be a part of.
“I just have a vision of Jeff Garlett’s goal and his celebration, seeing Nathan Jones and the way he took the time to acknowledge the significance of what was taking place. For someone like myself, who has experienced racism throughout my whole life – that really meant a lot.
“I’ve had discussions with teammates and Nathan Jones in particular. His grasp on the issue of racism is so advanced that it has a lot to do with the way the club places [awareness] on cultural awareness programs. I think it’s a lot more advanced than anything I’ve been a part of in football.”
Lumumba, who is friends with Adam Goodes, said he had spoken with him “many times” about their personal challenges with racism.
“Racism is something that minority groups such as Indigenous Australians face daily. It’s not just someone bullying because they have the ball,” he said.
“Racial vilification is only one symptom of racism, but racism is something that is felt by minorities every day.
“Adam is no different to anybody else going through it. The only difference is that it plays out in the public forum and unfortunately the root cause of the issue needs to be addressed, but we can get disoriented in a lot of public discourse.”
Lumumba also spoke highly of Neville Jetta, who along with fellow Aboriginal Melbourne players, Jeff Garlett and Jay Kennedy-Harris, plus several other Demons, initiated the idea to wear an armband with the colours of the Aboriginal flag.
“Neville Jetta not only had a fantastic game, but his maturity and leadership to do something that had great significance was not only for the football club and the football community, but also for the Australian community,” he said.
“The way that we conducted ourselves as a football club in that week says a lot about what we’re building at the Melbourne Football Club.”
Lumumba said Melbourne’s 37-point win over Collingwood wasn’t its best for the season – as each victory had its own significance.
“No, I don’t [think it was our best] to be honest. Every win that I’ve been a part of this year has had a huge significance, because of the excitement and the significance a win has for the football club,” he said.
“It was a really good win. It’s interesting that a lot of people have mentioned to me that I’d be really pleased with the win, because it was against my old side. But to be honest, I didn’t really put that emphasis on the win.
“The most pleasing thing was that the team was able to work together for four quarters and that’s something that we’ve found difficult to do throughout the course of the season.
“We put a lot of planning into that Collingwood game and we were able to execute pretty much step-by-step of what we set out to do. It was really pleasing from that regard.”
