Former football star Phil Krakouer says “dehumanising” comments from One Nation leader Pauline Hanson show why a racism class action he is leading against the AFL must go ahead.
Krakouer, who played 141 games with North Melbourne in the 1980s, and then had two seasons with the Western Bulldogs, is the co-lead plaintiff alongside former St Kilda great Nicky Winmar, and a group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander VFL and AFL players seeking recompense through the Supreme Court of Victoria for alleged racist abuse suffered during their football careers.
In a statement to this masthead, Krakouer, 66, said Hanson’s resurfaced comments last month in which she called Indigenous Australians “the most primitive race on earth” had reinforced why he and Margalit Injury Lawyers had brought their case.
This masthead can reveal that Gordon Legal is no longer representing the AFL, with fellow major legal firm Clayton Utz taking charge, two sources with knowledge of the case said on the condition of anonymity to speak freely. Gordon Legal is led by Peter Gordon, the former Western Bulldogs president and one of Australia’s most prominent class action lawyers.
The players allege injury, loss and damage, claiming the AFL failed to provide a culturally safe environment, leaving them susceptible to racial abuse from spectators and opposition players. The deadline to join the case is November 2.
“It is a particularly important time to stand up because of recent comments by the One Nation leader describing Indigenous Australians as being ‘primitive’,” Krakouer said.
“Racism hurts. Dehumanising comments hurt. It’s not right and it must stop. It is so important that people get involved in the class action so that we can change things in the area that we exist and love, the footy. It is an incredible opportunity to effect some change.”
All 18 AFL clubs have been warned they could be targeted over historical racism claims in a class action.
Hanson’s comments drew widespread criticism from all sides of politics, Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy condemning Senator Hanson for “derogatory” and “completely racist” remarks.
Krakouer said an incident at a community football club had reinforced how much work was still needed.
“I was recently watching my grandson’s footy grand final, and I met a woman in the social club after the game who was extremely upset that a spectators and opposition players had racially abused her 16-year-old son, who is Indigenous, throughout the year,” Krakouer said.
“Knowing the deep hurt and pain I have felt all my life because of the racist abuse directed at me during my AFL [then the VFL] career, my heart sunk for the 16-year-old boy and his mum.
“The pain of racism never truly leaves you. Its sting festers into your everyday life, creating wounds that are not easily forgotten.
“I’ve experienced racist abuse on the footy field during my AFL career in the 1980s and 1990s from opposition players and spectators. I felt completely isolated and left to battle it alone.”
To be included in the class action, a player must have featured in the then VFL, and now AFL, from May 1980 to October 9, 2025, and identify as an Aboriginal or a Torres Strait Islander person and be of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. Krakouer’s brother, Jim, is also a part of the class action.
The AFL did not wish to comment when contacted on Wednesday.
In November last year, the AFL denied responsibility for alleged on-field racism against Indigenous players, declaring the risks were akin to those in the wider community.
The league has lodged its defence in the Supreme Court of Victoria.
In a 33-page submission presented by Gordon Legal, the league said “devising, putting in place and maintaining any relevant ‘safe system of work’ was not the responsibility of the AFL”.
The AFL said “that risk of racist abuse occurring in the course of matches within the AFL competition was comparable to the risk arising in other fields of endeavour and areas of life”.
However, the league admitted that both men were “from time to time exposed to and subjected to physical and verbal racist abuse from players and spectators whilst playing in matches in the AFL competition”.
Winmar remains a part of the case despite being found guilty in July of three counts of assault after he smashed a woman’s head against a door and dragged her by the hair . He is appealing a six-month jail sentence.
He has since been removed from the Australian Football Hall of Fame, and a bronze statue of his famous response to racist abuse , which stood outside Perth Stadium in his home state, has been removed. He famously took a stand in front of an abusive Collingwood crowd in 1993, lifting his jumper and proudly pointing at his skin.
Winmar was the first Aboriginal footballer to play 200 games, finishing his career with 230 at St Kilda and 21 for the Bulldogs.
While an agreement signed by all the clubs with the AFL protects clubs against claims in the ongoing concussion class action, also brought by Margalit, they are not legally indemnified against racism claims given that the Racial Vilification Act was passed in 1975.
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