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AFL stars quickly joined Paddy Ryder in condemning a racist social media post directed at the ruckman after St Kilda’s loss to Adelaide.
The Saints spat out a six-goal lead over the Crows on Saturday night in a loss that ended their slim final hopes.
Paddy Ryder victim of a racist social media post after St Kilda’s loss to the Crows on Saturday night. Photo by Albert Perez / AFL Photos / via Getty Images
Ryder’s quick kick in an attempt to clear the ball from a save in the finals unfortunately bounced off a teammate and fell into the arms of Adelaide youngster Riley Thilthorpe, who scored the game-winning goal.
After the game, a Twitter user who claimed to be a fan of the Gold Coast Suns posted: “Now there is something for Blacky Ryder to be depressed.”
The Twitter user added the official AFL match hashtag – #AFLSaintsCrows – in the tweet of an account that has since been deleted.
Ryder, a native of Geraldton, Western Australia, took time off from football earlier this year to deal with personal issues.
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He returned in the seventh round and has played each of St Kilda’s last seven games.
The 33-year-old took to Twitter on Sunday to denounce the racist post.
“Don’t be racist and don’t joke about depression please,” Ryder posted.
He also told the offender to “grow up”.
Geelong star and AFL Players’ Association president Patrick Dangerfield posted a screenshot of the tweet on Instagram with the caption: “You racist f # cking pig.”
Hawthorn native veteran Shaun Burgoyne is one of a growing list of AFL stars who shed light on the racist post.
This is the latest in a long list of racist attacks on AFL stars by social media users.
Eddie Betts of Carlton, Liam Ryan of West Coast and Neville Jetta of Melbourne have all been targeted in recent years.
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