Michael O’Loughlin, a former Sydney Swans player, opens up about his experiences with racism in football and how he overcame it.
Former Swans star Michael O’Loughlin talks about his tough start in football. Michael O’Loughlin began fighting racism when he was a 10-year-old.
“My mother and grandmother pulled me aside and said, ‘You’ll be fighting every day of your life if that’s the way you want to handle things. See the football. Get the football. That’s how you’ll get ahead in our world. Play well, kick goals, get the footy. Don’t worry about that other stuff. As you get older, you’ll learn about racism, and you’ll learn what our people have been through and what they continue to go through’.
Michael O’Loughlin poses with the Swans’ 2005 premiership cup before the game against Melbourne at the SCG last month as part of the club’s 150-year celebrations.“The AFL comes out and has a policy that’s probably the first of its kind in the sporting world around racial and religious vilification,” O’Loughlin said. “But that doesn’t stop the clowns in the crowd. They’re always going to put in their two-cents worth. I don’t think we’ll ever get to the end of it.
O’Loughlin was a reluctant draftee to the lowly Swans in 1995 after setting his heart on joining Carlton. He played 303 games, kicked 521 goals, was a member of the 2005 premiership team and was ultimatelyYet for all his great achievements on the field, O’Loughlin believes his greatest single contribution came off it.
“It doesn’t get much better than that. It’s like winning a premiership and being able to help with a kid’s dream. It’s right up there.
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