AFL star Bailey Smith has thrown his support behind a controversial protest against 'patriarchal and bullying culture' at a Catholic school.
The Western Bulldogs player, 20, who attended Xavier, which is Melbourne's top Catholic boys' school, reposted photographer and ex-pupil James Robinson's image of a burning blazer at St. Kevin's in Melbourne.
Allegations about the St. Kevin's 'toxic' culture arose after Smith's on-field rival and former student Jordan De Goey was arrested in New York over assault allegations.
Speaking up: Bailey Smith (pictured in September) has thrown his support behind a controversial protest against 'patriarchal and bullying culture' at a Catholic school
Robinson told the Herald Sun that Smith's support of his protest was 'really wonderful'.
'He seems like he is someone who is definitely on the right page when it comes to things around masculinity, so it was really wonderful to see him share it.'
Robinson, a former pupil of St Kevin's College in Toorak, took to social media last week with a catalogue of accusations against the all-boys Catholic high school, claiming the halls are rife with toxic masculinity, homophobia, and bullying.
A good cause: The AFL bad boy, 20, reposted photographer and ex-pupil James Robinson's image of a burning blazer at St. Kevin's in Melbourne. Pictured: Robinson
Detailing the years spent at his alma mater, Mr Robinson said he was left suicidal at 15 after being unwillingly 'outed' by peers as homosexual and witnessed fellow students engaging in vile acts towards women.
In the wake of the charges laid against De Goey, Mr Robinson - who also now calls the Big Apple home - this week decided to stage a 'protest' on the college's grounds by taking a lighter to his old uniform.
'I broke into the school yesterday to protest. Something snapped in me this time,' he wrote on Instagram, sharing photos of his flame-licked blazer.
Robinson, a former pupil of St Kevin's College in Toorak, has set his blazer alight (pictured) on the school's grounds in protest after Jordan De Goey was arrested in New York
'The patriarchal culture I saw inside the school gates burst out and made its way to New York, my new home for the last five years. Allegedly assaulting someone in a city, where many in my queer community, like me, are rape and sexual assault survivors.'
Mr Robinson, who graduated in 2013, said it was 'unsurprising' De Goey was arrested in the US for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman on a dancefloor given the culture at their former school.
'St Kevin's is a bubble where privileged young men can rehearse oppression without consequence, before graduating with flying colours into public,' Mr Robinson said.
'A place where 'locker room talk' exists openly in hallways and classrooms,' he said.
'I saw a system designed to let young boys think they can do anything, assault anyone, and get away with it.'
Mr Robinson said he witnessed his male peers committing a range of derogatory acts towards teenage girls and female teachers.
'I saw revenge
