Nareen Young says netball is racist at all levels after slamming Scott Morrison over bread

A professor who slammed Scott Morrison for preferring white bread has claimed netball is ‘racist at every level’.

Nareen Young, head of the Indigenous People and Work Research and Practice Hub at the University of Technology, Sydney, made the comments after Aboriginal woman and Diamonds player Donnell Wallam raised concerns over a sponsorship deal. 

The sponsorship deal between Netball Australia and Gina Rinehart’s mining company Hancock Prospecting, came under scrutiny after Ms Wallam noted a comment by Ms Rinehart’s father Lang Hancock about Indigenous ‘half-castes’ in a 1984 documentary.

‘My observation and experience over many years is there is quite a lot of racism in netball at every level,’ Prof. Young, who is Indigenous, told ABC program The Drum. 

Professor Nareen Young from the University of Technology Sydney (pictured on The Drum on Wednesday night) said she believes netball is racist ‘at every level’

Prof. Young, who has worked with Netball Australia on its board, told the program on Wednesday: ‘Indigenous players make up so many local carnivals, there was then a promotional video made and released about netball and it was just all these blonde people.’

Prof. Young said she had spoken with Indigenous players at a local competition level who said they routinely experienced racism while on the court.

2GB Radio host Ben Fordham asked the professor to stop ‘throwing around racism claims like its confetti’ and to show proof of her claims. 

The Australian Diamonds sing the anthem during the Constellation Cup netball match between New Zealand and Australia at Spark Arena on October 12, 2022 in Auckland, New Zealand. They did not wear the Hancock Prospecting logo on their uniforms

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2GB Radio host Ben Fordham slammed Prof. Young and asked she stopped ‘throwing around racism claims like its confetti’

‘She’s made unsubstantiated claims of racism involving netball. Netball’s racist. Not a light claim to be making there,’ Fordham said on Thursday morning. 

‘You tell me, have you noticed a lot of racism at the under 10s, at the local school carnival? There’s not an ounce of proof that’s been provided.

‘If you’ve got an example, share it, use your voice, use your platform on the ABC to out people that were racist.

‘It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just that Professor Nareen Young sees racial stereotypes in some of the strangest places. 

‘Including in the bread aisle and in the toaster.’

Players have stood behind Aboriginal squad member Donnell Wallam (pictured) after she raised concerns over a shocking statement Ms Rinehart’s father Lang Hancock had made

Her comments come after members of Australia’s national netball team – the Diamonds – refused to wear a uniform that bore the logo of Hancock Prospecting, Gina Rinehart’s mining company.

Squad member Donnell Wallam raised concerns over a shocking statement Ms Rinehart’s father Lang Hancock had said about there being an Aboriginal ‘problem’ in an interview four decades ago. 

‘The ones that are no good to themselves and can’t accept things, the half-castes -and this is where most of the trouble comes,’ Mr Hancock said in the 1984 documentary film Couldn’t Be Fairer.

Gina Rinehart (right) is pictured with her father Lang Hancock, who started the company Hancock Prospecting. His comments from an 1984 interview have angered members of the Diamonds team

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‘I would dope the water up so that they were sterile and would breed themselves out in future and that would solve the problem.’

Former Diamonds captain Sharni Norder told the current squad that Hancock Prospecting ‘is a company that doesn’t suit Netball Australia’s values’. 

Prof. Young said she was proud of the ‘amazing women players’ who were supporting their teammate and hopes their rejection of the sponsorship is a ‘tipping point’. 

Netball Australia addressed the professor’s claims in a statement on Wednesday, saying it ‘was not aware of these allegations but takes any claim of racism extremely seriously’.

‘Netball Australia made a public commitment to listen, learn and change by engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and hearing about their experiences within netball,’ the statement read.

‘This incredibly important work continues and we welcome the opportunity to further understand these allegations.’ 

The partnership between Hancock Prospecting and Netball Australia is reportedly worth $3.5million a year until the end of 2025 (pictured, Indigenous netball player Donnell Wallam)

In a statement, Hancock Prospecting said it is ‘aware that there has been some recent enquiries raised regarding Hancock’s relationships with traditional owners’.

‘Hancock has positive agreements with all the native title holders in the areas we operate in, providing very significant royalty payments to the traditional owners in all our mining areas, well in excess of $300million in the last seven years alone,’ it said.

‘We work very closely with the communities on providing training, jobs, business development and contracting opportunities as well as heritage, health and education initiatives.’

Prof. Young has been dubbed ‘one of the most respected and leading Australian workplace diversity practitioners and thinkers’ and has also worked as a Director of Indigenous Consulting with finance firm Price Waterhouse Coopers.

Additionally, she was the chief executive of the Diversity Council of Australia and was recently made the Associate Dean at the University of Technology’s Business School.

Former Diamonds captain Sharni Norder told the current squad that Hancock Prospecting ‘is a company that doesn’t suit Netball Australia’s values’ (Ms Wallam is pictured far left)

Prof. Young (pictured) made headlines earlier this year after she slammed then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison for preferring white bread to ‘delicious’ black bread

Prof. Young made headlines earlier this year after she slammed then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison for preferring white bread to ‘delicious’ black bread. 

‘Who eats white bread in this country? Anglo men. I think it shows a deep lack of understanding as to who works in this country. I think that there’s a deep intersection of race and class.’ 

She later took to Twitter to recommend Mr Morrison try a different loaf.

Prof. Young shared a photograph and said: ‘This is my last word on the subject. On the right is my Dad, Bob Young (here with my late Uncle Brian).

‘My Dad is as working class as it gets, and he eats black bread because his family background is Swedish,’ she tweeted with a photo of her family.

‘Always has. It’s delicious. Scott Morrison should try it.’

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was the best man at her wedding. 

The bread controversy led the then-Opposition Leader to say he thought Australians can eat ‘any bread they like’.