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"Reflection of society": Tony Armstrong addresses ongoing racism in Australian sport
Sam Kosack • October 22nd, 2025 9:07 pm
Logie winner and former AFL player Tony Armstrong has opened up about the state of racism in Australian sport.
Racism is still rife within both community and professional sports in Australia, with AFL stars Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Jase Burgoyne both victims of racially abusive messages on social media, while seven per cent of NRL players reported they had been subject to racism in 2025.
Additionally, a new Victoria University study revealed that more than half of Australians who play community sport have experienced or seen racism.
Following the release of his three-part docuseries End Game, Armstrong detailed his journey to tackle racism in Australian sport, describing the confronting yet necessary process of creating the documentary.
“It's pretty horrific but I think the thing to be very cognizant of when we think about this is that's just a reflection of society,” Armstrong told SEN 1170 Drive.
“Sport is so beautiful because it does mirror all of society; the good, the bad, and everything in between.
“It was a labour of love. Normally when you go to work, you leave your troubles behind but for the first half of this year, going to work meant talking about racism and how to fix it
“It was confronting at times, but also I left it feeling quite hopeful seeing that things are working overseas that we aren't necessarily implementing here yet, and because of that, I was like ‘well, jeez, we're a chance’.
A recipient of the Bert Newton Logie award for Most Popular Presenter, Armstrong revealed his experiences viewing how overseas codes and countries tackle racism, speaking with former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, and Adam Goodes.
Asked if he believed Australia had been negligent towards addressing racism in sport, Armstrong responded “I think not just (in) sport, society wide.”
“I think it's not just about racism, I think it's very Australian to be like, no, mate, we're good, instead of facing some of those really tough things head on,” Armstrong said.
“I think, as is our nature, we kind of kick it down the road a bit and because of that, I think little things fester, like some of the bad stuff festers.
“An analogy I've been using is if we were to have a bust up as friends, the only way for us to move forward is to come together and… own up to both of our responsibilities in that bust up before we can move forward properly, right?
“I think that's something that we could really do in this space, as sport, as Australia, we could all come together and be like, hey, we want to move forward with a sense of harmony.
“But to do that, I think we need to acknowledge and talk about where we've been without the sword of Damocles swinging over everyone's head as well.
“If we can do that, I think we give ourselves a fighting chance to get on top of this stuff.”
