St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has received the backing of the club’s chief executive after a comment he made at training was deemed ‘casual racism’ by Indigenous players, including star Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera. The incident occurred earlier this month when Lyon said to three Indigenous players lining up together for a drill: “I love the brother-boy connection, but we all have to remember, we are part of the bigger team here.”
The players raised their concerns with Lyon the following day, and the matter was dealt with internally. It became public when journalist Caroline Wilson raised it on Channel Seven on Monday night. Lyon acknowledged his mistake, saying, “Was I being flippant? Could it be described as casual racism? I learned a lot out of what happened. It didn’t land where it should have landed, and I have to wear that, and I take full responsibility for what I said.”
Saints chief executive Carl Dilena described it as a “pretty innocent oversight” by Lyon that meant no harm, but stressed the importance of assessing whether comments are racist by how they are received. “There’d be people out there going, ‘Oh, did it really cause offence, was that very serious?’ And Ross didn’t think anything of it at the time. But it is very challenging, and as we’ve seen in various instances, it’s how it’s received more so than how it’s delivered,” Dilena told SEN.
Lyon was reportedly emotional and offered to consider his position as senior coach when he spoke with a group of players, including Bradley Hill and Wanganeen-Milera, three days after the incident. Dilena, who only learned of the matter on Monday night, said he was happy with how it was handled. “It shows that he’s running a pretty safe environment with our First Nations boys where they were comfortable to raise it with him and discuss it and just sort it out harmoniously,” he said.
St Kilda currently sit 12th on the ladder after seven games. Lyon, 59, is in his second stint coaching the club, having held the job since 2023.
