Adelaide Crows superstar Taylor ‘Tex’ Walker says he is 'deeply ashamed' after admitting to using a racial slur about an opposing player and being hit with a six-week suspension and $20,000 fine.
The former Crows captain made the racist remark about indigenous player Robbie Young to a Crows teammate - reportedly All-Australian midfielder Matt Crouch - at the quarter-time huddle of a South Australian National Football League game between the Crows reserves and North Adelaide on July 17.
Walker was not playing in the game but was on the ground supporting his teammates, and the comment was not heard by Young, formerly of St Kilda.
The comment was overheard by a Crows official who reported it to club management, who then forwarded it to the AFL Integrity Unit for investigation.
The six-match ban will see Walker miss the final three games of the season and the first three matches of 2022.
Crows star Taylor Walker is 'deeply ashamed' over the racial slur he made and has copped a $20,000 fine and a six-match ban after sanctions were handed by AFL on Thursday during a conciliation
A conciliation was held on Thursday between Walker, Young, the Adelaide official and the AFL where Walker apologised.
‘There is no excuse or justification for the words I said. They are unacceptable and I take full accountability for that,' Walker said in a statement issued on Friday.
‘I know and understand that I have caused deep hurt to the official who reported the matter and to Robbie Young, to both of their families and to the wider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.’
The racial slur said by Walker was made to a Crows player about North Adelaide Indigenous player Robbie Young (pictured) during a SANFL game on July 17
While Walker is under contract for next season, and has been one of the Crows best-performed players this season, there are doubts over whether he will be able to continue - with the club likely to come under pressure from sponsors and indigenous players and representatives to cut ties.
Senior football journalist Caroline Wilson was among those who believed Walker would find it hard to ever return to an AFL
