Joel Wilkinson, the AFL and the search for racial justice

This is not a victim story. Joel Wilkinson is not a victim.

This is a story about one man’s decade-long battle against what he believes is institutional racism in the AFL, and their attempts to silence him.

It is a story that has gone in circles for a decade with no end in sight.

The man at the heart of it is not going anywhere until there has been fundamental change — resolution not just for him personally, but for others who have experienced and continue to experience institutional racism.

“The truth never disappears,” Wilkinson says.

You might have already sensed this won’t be comfortable reading. It certainly wasn’t comfortable listening to the former AFL player talk about his experiences. Neither has…