It was a fight Essendon weren’t going to back down from.
The players wanted to show support for a cause and a mate.
The threat of an AFL imposed fine wasn’t going to stop them.
“The reaction that happened when the club was fined was so overwhelming on a national basis,” former Essendon Managing Director and CEO Peter Jackson said.
The ‘mate’ was Adam Ramanauskas.
The ‘cause’ was awareness and fundraising for the Cancer Council of Victoria.
And the outcry was nationwide.
“The club had done a bit of work with the cancer council before that but this provided a whole new opportunity,” Jackson said.
“A club’s priorities first and foremost is to win games of football but clubs also have a great opportunity to deliver ‘cause’ related events.”
Essendon players wanted to wear yellow armbands to show support for what Ramanauskas was going through.
The AFL didn’t like the idea and threatened to impose a $20,000 fine if they went ahead with it.
The players did it anyway.
“It was one of the silliest things the AFL did at the time in my view,” Jackson said.
“This was all a fight over a little piece of coloured plastic around players arms.
“The reaction by the players to do it was all about their personal, emotional feelings for a teammate whereas for the AFL it was all about process and authority.
“Those two things are always going to collide so the players made an emotional decision in the best interests of someone they loved.
“The AFL couldn’t see it in that way.”
The League fined Essendon $20,000 and a year later allowed the club to have the yellow armband incorporated in the sleeve of the jumper.
“In retrospect it was a great thing they did because the reaction it caused around the country, even from parts of Australia that didn’t follow AFL, was just extraordinary,” Jackson said.
“I don’t think their PR came out of it very well at the time but here we are ten years later still talking about it so it’s probably a good thing.”
Ramanauskas was first diagnosed with cancer in 2003. He missed eight matches but was back playing before the end of the season.
In 2006, the cancer came back.
He returned from chemotherapy the next year, before retiring at the end of 2008.
“He’s just such a down to earth, decent person,” Jackson said.
“He helped a lot of other people with their own challenges and in their minds he became a bit of a hero.
“It’s the way he handled himself that inspired a lot of people.”
The splash of yellow will again be on display when Essendon take on Melbourne on Saturday in the next ‘Clash for Cancer’.
A decade on, it has come to mean so more than just a simple piece of plastic.
Click here to secure your match worn guernsey and help us raise vital funds for the Cancer Council Victoria.
