Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has admitted that he doesn't feel "comfortable" following premiership star Heritier Lumumba's criticism of the club's culture.
Buckley's comments came after Lumumba penned a powerful letter to his former teammates, calling for the Collingwood to be held accountable for its perceived mishandling of racism during his tenure at the club
Responding to the criticism following Collingwood's draw against Richmond on Thursday night, Buckley admitted that he was uncomfortable knowing that Lumumba felt "belittled" and "diminished" in the club's environment during his career.
"Clearly the thing that needs to be spoken about Collingwood and with Heritier, we have a disgruntled ex-player, in this particularly issue of racism," Buckley said in his post-match press conference.
"I speak for the club generally, but I have to speak for myself. I'm not comfortable Heritier feels like he has been belittled and diminished in our environment."
Lumumba played a total of 199 games for the club and was an influential part of the drought-breaking 2010 premiership side, a year in which he was named in the All-Australian team.
Despite admitting that the pair haven't spoken since 2014, Buckley said he was adamant Collingwood's club culture had changed since Lumumba's time at the club.
"I haven't spoken to H since 2014, I'd love to speak to him again. I would love to have him come to his old football club and see what we have become and the culture of acceptance, celebration of difference, no matter your colour or religion," he said.
"No matter what your upbringing has been, we've actually been able to grow as an environment.
"We were growing when he was there and he was a bit part of it and we are still growing.
"I'm really proud of the club we are now and I'd really love to share that with him, because he has been a big part of that.
"I'll continue to try reach out and listen to him to see if there's something we can do about how he has felt about his experience at the club."
Buckley's comments followed those of Collingwood president Eddie McGuire who also suggested that he has continually tried to reach out to Lumumba, who is now living in Los Angeles.
* This article was originally published here
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