The Melbourne Storm backed Indigenous Australians’ constitutional right to a voice in parliament.
Adam Briggs, a well-known rapper, record label owner, writer, novelist, and comedian who is focused on the Melbourne Storm NRL club, is a passionate advocate for social justice, especially for Indigenous peoples.
Known by his nickname, “Briggs,” he has been an ardent Storm fan since the team’s founding in 1998.
Regarding a disputed donation made by corporate director Brett Ralph, Briggs has written a harsh letter to Matthew Tripp, the chairman of the club.
Ralph donated a substantial sum of $75,000 to Advance Australia, a ‘No’ campaign group, shortly before an important Australian referendum. The purpose of the referendum was to decide whether the Australian Constitution should be changed to acknowledge Australia’s First Peoples by creating an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to provide advice to Parliament on issues specifically affecting them.
The ‘Yes’ campaign, which had strong initial support, subsequently struggled to win over hesitant voters, and the referendum was ultimately lost with almost 60% of Australians voting ‘No.’
Many experts believe that the conclusion could cause long-term harm to First Nations people, ultimately putting a stop to any prospects of updating Australia’s founding documents.
An outspoken opponent of the gift and the Melbourne Storm’s backing of the ‘No’ campaign, Briggs was an enthusiastic backer of the ‘Yes’ movement. In an official declaration of support for the ‘Yes’ vote, the Melbourne Storm allied themselves with the cause of giving Indigenous Australians a voice in Parliament.
Briggs is well known for taking a strong stand on racial, identity, and Indigenous rights issues. Briggs gained notoriety in 2016 after he referred to partygoers who wore complete black body paint and dressed like Aboriginals as “redneck scumbags.”
The Melbourne Storm have not addressed the concerns raised in the emotional letter or Briggs’s resignation from the team, therefore the controversy remains unresolved.
The incident highlights the importance of ongoing discussions and conflicts about Indigenous issues in Australian society. It also confirms the role that sports and prominent figures such as Briggs have in promoting social change.
