‘He’s not the victim’: Crows coach speaks on banned star
Adelaide ace Izak Rankine shouldn’t be portrayed as a victim after being banned for an inexcusable homophobic slur, his coach says.
Matthew Nicks says a lot of people would be “doing it tough” in the wake of Rankine’s four-match suspension.
The Crows coach says while he and the club were offering Rankine every support, there was no excuse for his slur directed at an opponent.
“Izak has got some great support around him,” Nicks told reporters on Friday.
“He has acknowledged where he went wrong and he’s worked his way through that in the right manner.
“He understands that we have got to be better in that space.
“But he’s not the victim in this. And by no means do we want that to be looked at that way – and he knows that.”
The AFL initially proposed a five-match suspension.
But the league’s chief executive Andrew Dillon cited a “compelling medical submission” from the Crows for reducing the sanction to a four-game ban.
Dillon and Crows chief executive Tim Silvers both refused to elaborate on the medical submission.
“No one is making excuses,” Nicks said.
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“No one is arguing that there shouldn’t have been a penalty.
“We know we have to be better in that space.
“And we’re educated around that. Staff, players, everyone within the football club, is educated around why, what it is we’re trying to change in society.
“We didn’t get it right on this occasion. We will continue to educate.”
Rankine wanted to return to the club as soon as possible but would likely spend some time away.
“That will be the balance … Izak probably spending a little bit of time away from the club to, I guess, re-energise himself,” Nicks said.
“Our players will get a break – when I say break, they’ll re-energise next week, as will the whole league.
“But I know for a fact, Izak wants to be around the group as soon as he possibly can.
“But also I think some time away will help him as well.”
The four-match ban offers Rankine hope of playing in the grand final, should the ladder-leading Crows reach the premiership decider.
But he will only be available if the Crows lose a home qualifying final en route to the grand final.
The brilliant playmaker, regarded among the AFL’s most talented players, and the Crows understood the impact of his slur on the LGBTQIA community, Nicks said.
“We understand there’s maybe a lot of people that are doing it tough,” he said.
“I don’t know who those people are.
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“The only thing we can do as a footy club is get around all of our people and ask questions: how are you and how has it affected you?
“Again, we believe we’ve got a strong culture but we know we need to keep working on it.”
Nicks acknowledged the club’s culture had been tested by Rankine’s offensive remark to an an unnamed Collingwood player in Adelaide’s three-point win last Saturday night.
“It’s moments like this you look at the culture and what it is we’re building and you know that you’ve still got work to do,” Nicks said.
“We aim for perfection but we understand it’s pretty tough to get there, but there’s a lot of things that we’re doing right.
“We constantly address that, we constantly talk about the values and how it is we behave and the importance of role modelling.
“There are a lot of young and older people in South Australia, especially, that look up to our group and our people and we understand that responsibility.”
Rankine is the sixth AFL-listed player banned for an on-field homophobic comment in the past 16 months.
Silvers said while the Crows were “frustrated and disappointed” in Rankine, they would offer the 25-year-old every support while ruling out an appeal against his penalty.
“He put himself into this position and he’s deeply remorseful and regrets what he said, but he’s doing it pretty tough,” Silvers said.
“He basically hasn’t left his house for the last few days.
“We’re going to support him, we’re going to care for him.
“Yes, we understand he did the wrong thing. But he’s still part of our extended family and we’ll support him through this.”
Silvers said he was a “little nervous for him”.
“He’s gone through a difficult time over the last couple of days.
“We’ve had the appropriate support around him and I think, for him, the release of the decision is good.
The Crows travel to play North Melbourne on Saturday in their last home-and-away game and are then assured of hosting two finals.
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-with AAP
