Michael Long urges nephew Cyril Rioli to seek help amid ongoing racism row with former club Hawthorn

In a revealing interview with Mark Robinson, AFL legend Michael Long details his concern for nephew Cyril Rioli as the former premiership Hawk’s racism standoff with Hawthorn drags on. Uncle Michael Long is hurting. He’s hurting for his nephew Cyril Rioli. “He needs help,” Long said. Uncle Michael has not spoken to his nephew for almost four years, despite them both living in Darwin. “We love our nephew but we’ve seen the change in our nephew and it’s not the way we’ve brought him up. We brought him up to have respect, but he’s changed and he needs to get professional help,” Long said. Long believes his nephew has cut himself off from the world and needs to find his way back. “He needs to address it himself,” Long said. “We didn’t bring him up this way. A lot of people helped Cyril along the way and there were a lot of family and friends who got Cyril to where he got to, and he became estranged to a lot of family and friends. “As a man he needs to stand up and take control of his life. “And he knows a lot of people love him.” Uncle Michael is also hurting for Hawthorn, and Jeff Kennett, and Rioli’s former teammates. He’s hurting for the Rioli and Long families in Darwin and on the Tiwi Islands, where respect has been the cornerstone of their upbringing, in the blackfella world and in the white-dominated footy world. He’s hurting because when he read what Cyril and his wife Shannyn revealed of their hatred towards Kennett and the Hawks last week, he believed he was reading the thoughts of a nephew he loved, but a nephew who was lost. NO CONTACT Cyril really doesn’t answer any messages from family or former Hawk teammates, some of whom he played in four premierships with. He was close to Jarryd Roughead and “Poppy” (Paul Puopolo), but they are now distant. Former teammates have noted the change in Rioli. Eyebrows were raised several years ago when one former teammate organised to go fishing with mates in Darwin and contacted Rioli about helping to organise the fishing day. Rioli apparently said no worries, but as the weekend loomed, he contacted his former teammate and the fishing trip was cancelled. As Uncle Michael details his despair and concern in this interview, he breaks down in tears several times, for Cyril is a like a son to him. But at some point in his adult life, Cyril changed. For several years, and even before he returned to the Northern Territory midway through 2018 and subsequently retired at the end of the 2018 season, the cheeky, grinning, loveable Cyril became sullen and withdrawn. Family members have been concerned about his social behaviour for some time. Uncle Michael won’t detail exactly what. ‘PEOPLE WANT TO HELP HIM’ “He needs to address it himself,” he said. “Cyril knows what he needs to address and there’s plenty of people out there who want to help him.” It’s been a week since Cyril and his wife, Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli, went public with their allegations of race-related incidents at Hawthorn when Cyril was at the club. In a scathing attack, they also declared they would never return to Hawthorn until Kennett was gone. Hawthorn president Kennett on Thursday announced the club was investigating the Rioli matters. “We are taking them seriously and any failings will be addressed,” Kennett wrote to Hawks members. Long said he was saddened when he read last week’s article, but not for the reason that saddened mostly everyone else. “That article I read … that’s not Cyril, that’s not his go,” Uncle Michael said. “He’s been four or five years out of the game … and for that article to come out that way it did … I was saddened to read how it came across about Jeff Kennett and the Hawthorn Football Club. ‘THERE WAS GOOD LEADERSHIP’ “There were a lot of Indigenous players at the club at the time — Shaun Burgoyne was there, Lance (Franklin) was there and before that Chance (Bateman) … there’s good leadership there. “I don’t think any of those players spoke out about racial issues and I’ve never heard anything, and his mum has never said anything to me about this. “I don’t know where it’s coming from.” Four-time Hawks premiership player Jordan Lewis revealed on AFL360 on Wednesday he was central to an incident in 2013 — which Rioli raised as an example of the problems at Hawthorn — when during an off-season trip to Bali a senior player asked teammates whether the partner of one of his Indigenous teammates was “also a boong”. The Indigenous player was at the table at the time. Lewis immediately organised a meeting with the Indigenous player and another senior player, where an apology was made and accepted. The incident wasn’t reported to bosses at the club, but at the same time Lewis’s immediate action has been commended. “Jordan took the right steps at the time and dealt with it as a leader should,” Long said. “Clearly, Jordan had the trust and respect of the individuals involved.” It has been reported a comment made by Kennett to Shannyn about her ripped jeans at a Tasmanian airport in 2018 was the final straw that led to Cyril’s retirement at age 28. Uncle Michael — who called out racism in an Essendon match against Collingwood in 1995 — believes that episode has been overplayed. “It was blown out of proportion with Jeff,” Long said. “Jeff works for one of the big organisations with Beyond Blue and he wouldn’t be in that organisation if he didn’t have compassion for people. “Jeff’s apologised a number of times and wrote a letter. “We all make mistakes, but this is not a colour thing. It’s about a pair of jeans and even though Shannyn might have felt humiliated, you don’t end someone’s football career over that. “That’s a sad state of affairs.” Long said the Hawks, led by coach Alastair Clarkson, had given Cyril a wonderful football life and that he knew Clarkson had many times reached out to his former player, but to no avail. “A lot of people have tried to reach out to Cyril, from players to family to the club,” Uncle Michael said. “This week, Gillon McLachlan said to me: ‘What can we do to help?’’’ ‘WE DIDN’T BRING CYRIL UP THIS WAY’ Long recently caught up with Clarkson at the NTFL grand final. “Our family, the Long family, and Maurice Rioli’s brother Lawrence was there … I said to Clarko, ‘From the family, thank you for what you have done for Cyril and the Long family’,’’ Long said. “We were in the corporate area, most of my brothers and sisters were there and friends, and we just wanted to thank him and the Hawthorn Football Club. “We are so grateful and we said whatever we can do for the Hawks we’ll go out of our way. “There’s a place in our heart for Hawthorn. Regardless that we played for Essendon, we followed our nephew pretty closely. “But, you know, after about the halfway mark of his career, he became estranged. “This kid we’ve brought up … and my father passed away in 2019 and he always taught us about being a passionate footballer … we didn’t bring Cyril up this way.” Uncle Michael is mystified about why his nephew has lost touch with his family and friends but is pleased, after a period of unease, Cyril and his mum Kathy, are reconnecting. “A lot of people helped Cyril along the way,” he said. “On the way down and on the way out, a lot of players and coaches tried to reach out. “He went home because his father wasn’t well and the club stood by him and did everything they possibly could to help, but on the way he’s forgotten a lot of people.” In June, 2018, Cyril and Shannyn returned to Darwin because his father had suffered a heart attack and Cyril said he wanted to spend time with his family. Later that season, then Hawks football boss Graham Wright travelled to Darwin to try to convince Cyril and Shannyn to return to Melbourne. EMOTIONAL AND VOLATILE MEETING The hour-long meeting at Shannyn’s mother’s place was emotional and, at times, volatile and it is understood Shannyn did most of the talking. Then Wright met Long and Cyril’s mum Kathy. Long remembers the meeting clearly. “Even Cyril’s mother said, ‘What are you doing, son? You’ve got to get back to Melbourne.’ “But he didn’t want to play anymore. His mind was set … and he was given the wrong advice. “I think the discussion Graham had with Shannyn and Cyril was a bit embarrassing. We had to apologise to Graham, we apologised on behalf of our families.” The Kennett-Cyril showdown has surprised many because after Cyril retired in 2018, he returned to Hawthorn to make his farewell speech to teammates. And he was asked if it was OK that Kennett was there at the players’ auditorium at Waverley Park. Cyril did not have an issue and Kennett attended. KENNETT HAS NEVER HAD ISSUE Kennett has told people in recent days he has never had an issue with Rioli, and before this week’s revelations, nor did he believe that the champion Hawk had an issue with him. In September of 2018, Cyril also wrote a column for the athletesvoice website, where he did not detail any concerns with the Hawks or Kennett. “You want to retire unbroken,” he wrote. “Your body, your mind, your soul — they’re all things you need intact for life after footy. I didn’t want to grind it out until there was nothing left. “I’m happy. I’m back where I belong. I’ve got my family, and Shannyn and I want to start our own family. I want to start my own life.” He added in the article: “My role models were my dad, uncles and older cousins. I have the chance to be a role model to kids.” Uncle Michael said Cyril was estranged from the greater family for years before he penned that article. “When he first started playing, a lot of people cared about him and wanted him to be successful,” Uncle Michael said. “He is estranged and he’s been like that from about halfway through his career. “It’s sad. He’s forgotten about a lot of people.” ‘I DON’T THINK WE’VE LOST HIM’ Asked if he felt he had lost his nephew forever, Uncle Michael said: “I don’t think we’ve lost him, the door will always be open, but he needs help. He’s got to see that. He’s my flesh and blood and we love him. “Maybe he’s reaching out, and I dearly hope he is, but he should not forget what the club and a lot of people have done for him. “It’s a two-way street, life. It’s not just about the individual, it’s about your family and your mates, not only on the way up but on the way out. “Hawthorn wants him at the club in some capacity, but we want him back in the family and in our lives. And that includes Shannyn as well.”