Last Wednesday night, Tamika Matthews uploaded a video of her son Jarmiles Gardiner on social media, visibly distressed after experiencing racism at a football training session.

Her sister Shaylee Matthews shared it, drawing widespread attention and sparking a conversation about racism in schools, sports and among children - and many expressions of support for young Jarmiles.

Ms Matthews was waiting for her son to finish training when he came to the car in disarray.

Triggered by a hurtful comment from a teammate, Jarmiles broke down in front of his mum.

She approached the coaches to let them know what had happened and said they were supportive.

Jarmiles told his mum he had other teammates who stuck up for him, telling the boy who called him a racialised name "that's not right".

"He was a mess," Ms Matthews told National Indigenous Times.

"The club was on the phone straight away, trying to fix it.

"The only reason I pulled over to record was to show my friends and family that my son's hurt."

Their journey home was difficult, having pulled over a number of times in order to console her son.

"We pulled the car over three times because it was too much," she said.

"It's like a domino effect on our family, it makes all of us sad.

"It felt like I failed as a mother because of how broken my son was. I couldn't do anything, all I could do is cry and comfort him."

Ms Matthews wants to make it clear that the incident is not unique to AFL training, and that it's far more common for Jarmiles at school and when he's out and about.

Ms Matthews said her children have faced racism a number of times at school.

She has spoken to the principal and numerous teachers at their public school in the Maitland area, where she said they continuously downplay the situation.

"I've been to the school, I told the principal you don't do anything for these Black kids at school," she said.

"There have been times where Jarmiles has been called a 'n*gger' and he's responded by being physical with students and Jarmiles is the one that's getting punished.

"When NAIDOC comes around you should be celebrating our culture for our kids but lately it's not there enough for our people at the school."

Since the initial report by National Indigenous Times, support has been pouring in for Jarmiles nationwide.

The AFL and NRL communities have offered their support for young Jarmiles, ensuring he feels loved and appreciated.

"Thank you for supporting me" Jarmiles said.

"You never think there'd be that many people out there sticking up for us," Ms Matthews added.

"It's a great feeling and it's lifted us up."