Heritier Lumumba has broken his silence in the wake of Collingwood's external review revealing a culture of systemic racism at the club.
Lumumba, who has claimed that he dealt with racism at Collingwood over the last seven years, took aim at club president Eddie McGuire for his reponse to the findings in a series of tweets.
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In a lengthy statement on Twitter, Lumumba said it was "painful" to watch the club's press conference in response to the findings delivered in the 'Do Better Report'.
"Eddie McGuire's inability to let go of the illusion he's constructed of himself does not serve the club, the code, or the community. It's a pity his final year looks like it will be marked by yet another self-inflicted racism scandal," Lumumba wrote.
https://twitter.com/iamlumumba/status/1356199697120067584
"The report clearly states that during Eddie's tenure as CFC president, the club's racism resulted in 'profound and enduring harm' to many individuals, families, & communities.
"It was disturbing to see how easily Eddie and the CFC board members reduced the severity of this 'profound and enduring harm' to mere 'mishaps' – as if they were talking about spilling tea on a couch rather than being found guilty of years of systemic racism."
The 33-year-old launched legal action against both Collingwood and the AFL last October, claiming that the two organisations failed to provide a safe work environment for him.
Lumumba's lawyer, Rhea Dhillon, said that the future of the legal proceedings would be determined by Collingwood and the AFL's actions moving forward after the report.
"This is a pretty watershed moment, not only for the club but for the AFL," Dhillon told News Corp Australia.
"Now with it all out in the open, suffice to say it entirely vindicates our client's claims. He has been saying these things for the past seven years and he is feeling pretty vindicated by the findings in the report.
"We were waiting and seeing what the report would be and now we're waiting to see what their response is to it. That could alleviate the need for legal proceedings or we might still have to consider our options, depending on what course they (Collingwood) propose to take."
While Collingwood's 'Do Better' report uncovered systemic racism at the club, Lumumba's specific claims were not addressed due to his refusal to partake in the review.
One of the Lumumba's claims was that he was referred to by the racist nickname "chimp" during his time at the club.
"Allegations levelled at Collingwood by former player Heritier Lumumba were not addressed by Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt and her team, the authors of the CFC Do Better Report," a club statement read.
"Without Heritier's co-operation it was their view that his claims could not be fully explored or tested."
The AFL also released a statement in response to the findings handed down in Collingwood's 'Do Better Report', with the league to review the findings.
"The AFL received the report today, and we will now formally review the information and recommendations and to also consider what else we can and should do as the governing body," AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said in the statement.
"In commissioning an independent report, the Collingwood Football Club acknowledged it needed to take a different approach, a stronger direction when it comes to its processes of dealing with racism and ensured they recognised the seriousness of racism.
"The mistakes of the past show that racism in any form or on any level is a serious issue and should not be interpreted in any other way. This report is an important step in the change Collingwood is implementing and demonstrates the seriousness in which the club takes the issue."
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