Bullying, racism, homophobia met with silence in grassroots footy
A family has raised concerns about bullying and homophobia in their son's Australian rules football club. Despite reporting the incidents to club officials, they felt unsupported and faced a lack of action regarding the alleged bullying. The situation escalated to the point where the family decided to withdraw their son from the program due to the distress it caused him.
- ▪Dustin, a 12-year-old with autism, faced bullying and homophobic slurs at his local football club.
- ▪His parents reported the bullying to club officials but felt their concerns were not taken seriously.
- ▪The family ultimately decided to withdraw Dustin from the program after witnessing his distress and self-harming behavior.
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Thu, 28 May67119→Fri, 29 May8884→Sat, 30 May13:15--→Sat, 30 May16:15--→Sat, 30 May19:35--→Sun, 31 May15:15--→Sun, 31 May19:20--→Thu, 4 June19:30--→Fri, 5 June19:40--→Sat, 6 June14:15--→Sat, 6 June17:15--→Sat, 6 June20:15--→Sun, 7 June15:15--→Sun, 7 June19:20--→Mon, 8 June15:15--→ AFL Score Centre 'Heart ripped out on repeat': Auskick parents say they have been failed by AFLBy Marnie Vinall and Andy BurnsTopic:Australian Rules FootballSat 30 May 2026 at 5:59amSat 30 May 2026 at 5:59amSat 30 May 2026 at 5:59amDustin* watches every AFL match.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at ABC News (Australia).