Indigenous AFL and AFLW players have reported a bleak level of satisfaction with how their experiences of racism in the game were addressed.

More than 50 per cent of players were 'not at all' satisfied by the response to racism, as the issue continues to rear its head across the men's and women's seasons.

In both leagues, social media was the leading source of racist incidents, followed by in-public and from spectators at games.

In some cases racism came from within clubs, the AFL, the media, and from teammates.

In April, Port Adelaide forward Willie Rioli was granted leave by the club after receiving a string of racist and homophobic attacks from social media users after his own online post following the Powers' high-emotion meeting with Hawthorn.

Port later stated "there are things that hurt Willie that are said from time to time, which people don't understand the context for him" in regards to on-field comments in the fallout of repeated matters involving Rioli.

In recent years, online attacks towards players have been a recurring issue.

Following a string of racist and other vilification directed towards players in the early rounds of 2023 the league announced lifetime bans for fans found guilty.

Earlier this month AFL chief executive Andrew Dillion highlighted the need for "all industry approach…to make our environments the best they can be for all the men and women that play the game".

The latest stats on player views emerged in the AFL Players' Associations fourth Insights and Impact Report, taken from surveys across the clubs, releasing responses from 2024, on Wednesday night.

From 80 men's competition players responses, including players who identify as Indigenous or a person of colour, 53 of the 80 said they had never experienced racism during their career.

There were 10 personal experiences of racism in the previous 12 months, 14 in the previous two-five years and seven more than five years ago. Close to half of reported experiences of racism had occurred online.

In nine cases it occurred out in public, seven times from spectators at games, three from the media, three from the AFL, two from rival club players or staff and one each from teammates, while playing at the community level and from within the AFLPA.

Among 39 AFLW players, 33 had never been subjected to racism.

One instance had occurred in the previous twelve months, four in the previous one to four years and twice more than four years ago.

Social media, public occurrences and from spectators were the most common sources for women's players (three times, three times and twice, respectively) and once from teammates, at the community level, and from club staff - from 11 occurrences overall.

In the AFLW, 58 per cent of Indigenous players were 'No, not at all' satisfied with the response to a racist incident, with 24 per cent 'somewhat or partially', and just 18 per cent 'yes, entirely' satisfied.

Indigenous AFL players returned responses of 50, 24 and 26 per cent in the same categories.

In 2024's report, 49 of 84 male players reported they had never experienced racism with 33 of 49 AFLW players stating the same.

Social media was also previously the most common source of occurrences.

"A growing number of Indigenous AFL and AFLW players report never experiencing racism during their football careers. In 2024, 66 per cent of AFL players and 85 per cent of AFLW players said they had never encountered racism in the game, compared to 58 and 77 per cent respectively last year," the 2025 report stated.

"However, for those who did experience racism, fewer felt the situation was handled well. Only 26 per cent of AFL and 18 per cent of AFLW players were entirely satisfied with the response to the racist incident — a sharp drop from 46 per cent and 53 per cent the previous year.

"The decline in satisfaction points to the need for a stronger, more consistent, industry-wide process and response to address racism when it does occur."

Among all men's players, 33 per cent said racism was among the three most societal issues facing players, with 10 per cent of all women's players stating the same.

Mental health (AFL) and gender equity (AFLW), respectively, were the overwhelmingly most common leading concerns.

The report noted recommendations: "AFL and AFLPA to commence ongoing due diligence pursuant to the CBA to identify risks to equality, inclusion and safety (including racism) and to inform industry measures to effectively prevent and address those risks."