Storm chairman ‘greatly upset' by Welcome to Country ‘miscommunication'
Melbourne Storm have taken responsibility for what they say was an internal miscommunication that meant the Welcome to Country for their Anzac Day clash at AAMI Park was cancelled at the last minute, a situation that has left the chairman 'disappointed him beyond words'.
Wurundjeri elder Aunty Joy Murphy said she had been scheduled to perform the service at AAMI Park last Friday night before the Storm's clash with the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Performances from First Nations groups were also planned.
But as other Indigenous performers rehearsed on the field, Murphy said she was told by the club's board that it no longer wanted her to conduct the Welcome to Country. The two other First Nations groups refused to continue their performances as a result.
Storm chairman Matt Tripp said his club had to repair relationships with its Indigenous and First Nations supporter base.
'It has disappointed me beyond words,' Tripp told this masthead.
'I am acutely aware of the many different cultures and races we have involved in our football club and our supporter base.
'Like I do with anything within the club, I guard that with my life and I want to protect that at all costs.
'To have a miscommunication deem us as non-sensitive to Welcome to Country and beyond that, a part of Australian customs, that has upset me greatly.'
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