AFL chairman Richard Goyder has defended CEO Gillon McLachlan in response to former player Heritier Lumumba's call for the chief executive to resign, revealing every club will soon be forced to employ a full-time Indigenous liaison officer.
The league has been plunged into a fresh racism crisis by Adelaide veteran Taylor Walker's comment directed at SANFL player Robbie Young.
Lumumba, whose own experience as a player at Collingwood prompted an independent review of that club's responses to incidents of racism and cultural safety, declared on Saturday that it was "time for Gillon McLachlan to stand down".
"McLachlan is an individual whose family has inherited massive generational wealth from stolen land. He's beyond privileged," Lumumba posted on Twitter.
Lumumba called for the AFL to be "led by someone who has the credentials and vision to address the systemic issues it has".
Goyder dismissed Lumumba's suggestion, describing his words as reflective of the "hurt" felt throughout the community regarding racism.
"I feel incredibly fortunate to chair a commission with a CEO like Gill McLachlan," Goyder told ABC Radio. "He is outstanding.
"There's no better person to lead at an executive level, the AFL, than Gill McLachlan on every front, including this front."
Goyder called Walker's remark "incredibly disappointing", pointing to Indigenous star Eddie Betts' ensuing impassioned speech on racism as being "one of the most compelling bits of television I've ever seen".
Much discussion has centered on Walker's future, which remains uncertain after Matthew Nicks noted on Friday that the club had set no timeframe for him to front teammates.
But the incident is also set to spark change from the AFL, which was heavily criticised for its lack of action and belated apology in response to systematic booing of Indigenous icon Adam Goodes.
"We're going to do a few things," Goyder said.
"We're going to up the education and actually make it mandatory ... that here is periodic renewal of understanding.
"We are going to make sure that every AFL club has full-time Indigenous liaison people.
"We will make room in the soft cap and potentially there'll be a stick if there's not (somebody employed), so we'll make sure that happens."
"We'll turn it around and hopefully it'll actually unite the game."
The AFL Players' Association earlier this year highlighted the lack of Indigenous liaison officers at several clubs as a chief concern in the cost-cutting environment of COVID-19.
Goyder spoke with AFLPA president Patrick Dangerfield about the topic, also seeking his view on the grand final debate.
"He said to me, 'Richard, we want to play in front of crowds'. The AFL has got to look at integrity as well," Goyder said.
"We're looking at all scenarios at the moment."
Goyder said the league will make a call on its preferred grand final venue "in coming weeks", and that scrapping the pre-finals bye is being strongly considered.
