Jamarra Ugle-Hagan: Australian Rules Footballer echoes Nicky Winmar’s stand against racist abuse | News News

Jamarra Ugle-Hagen was subject to racist during a Western Bulldogs game against St Kilda last week; he celebrated a goal on Thursday against Brisbane Lions by lifting his shirt and pointing to his skin.

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan was subject to racist abuse last weekend

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, an indigenous Australian Rules Footballer, has taken a stand after he was subjected to racist abuse.

Ugle-Hagan, a full forward for Melbourne-based club Western Bulldogs, celebrated scoring his first goal against Brisbane Lions on Thursday by raising his shirt and pointing to his skin, after he was racially abused by a fan during an Australian Football League (AFL) match against St Kilda at the Melbourne’s Docklands Stadium last weekend.

He scored five goals for the Bulldogs as they beat Brisbane Lions at the same ground on Thursday, and described the incident last weekend as “hard”.

“I did want to make a stance, I wanted to show my presence,” the 20-year-old said in an on-field interview.

“Obviously, what happened last weekend was a pretty hard time. I just wanted to go out there and make the point that I’m a just a boy trying to play football like all the other Indigenous boys.”

The racist abuse against Ugle-Hagan was condemned by the AFL, the Bulldogs and St Kilda.

The gesture on Thursday was similar to his fellow Indigenous player Nicky Winmar’s stand three decades ago, which is widely considered a landmark moment in the fight against racism in the AFL.

Winmar said in a statement on Friday he was proud of Ugle-Hagan for “standing up for himself” and that he was happy to “pass the baton” to younger generations of Indigenous players to reinforce the stand he made in 1993.

Nicky Winmar’s iconic stand against racist abuse in 1993 has been marked with a statue unveiled in 2019

Racial abuse directed at Aboriginal Australians was commonplace when Winmar made his gesture and although matters have improved, the former St Kilda player said there should be no complacency.

“Things are getting better, with increased awareness, and kids are getting educated in schools now about racism in sport and in society, which is great,” the 57-year-old added.

“There’s still a few who can’t control their negative attitudes, all we can do is keep supporting each other, and keep calling it out.”