A 23-year-old Aussie Rules player will be kicked out of the sport for a second time after being found guilty of racially vilifying an opponent earlier this month.

Key points: A complaint was made against the player after a heated end to an AFLNT match in Darwin in early February

A complaint was made against the player after a heated end to an AFLNT match in Darwin in early February The player had been re-registered in October after having a life ban overturned following an on-field incident in 2018

The player had been re-registered in October after having a life ban overturned following an on-field incident in 2018 It happened as racial tensions heightened after the re-airing of Adam Goodes's The Australian Dream

The playing career of Leroy Larson is finished after he was given a five-week ban rising from an incident at a game in Darwin on February 8.

There was a scuffle between players after the final whistle of the St Marys-Tiwi Bombers clash at Marrara Stadium, in which Tiwi captain Paddy Heenan could be seen approaching and shoving Larson.

NT Grandstand presenter Shannon Byrne said a vilification complaint stemmed from a comment made by Larson to Tiwi forward Austin Wonaeamirri.

On February 21, an independent tribunal found Larson guilty of breaching the AFL's National Vilification and Discrimination Policy.

Appeals against the ban were dismissed, and the AFL's policy bars any parties from discussing the case for seven years.

Larson was re-registered as a player last October after he successfully had a life ban overturned following an on-field incident in South Australia in 2018.

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Hopes of a second comeback were dashed on Thursday when an AFLNT statement confirmed the AFL has de-registered Larson. "

Both the AFL and AFLNT will work with St Mary’s Football Club to ensure the player’s well-being is supported during this time," the AFLNT statement read

'Not good enough'

Heenan was asked about the incident on ABC Radio after the finding.

"We've come together and we want to move forward from that, and we want to talk to the boys and just focus on what we need to do out there on the field instead of what's happened in the past."

AFLNT chief executive Stu Totham told ABC Radio Darwin he was following national guidelines and policies.

Stuart Totham says there is no place for discriminatory behaviour on or off the field. ( ABC News: Matt Garrick )

"It's really disappointing that we've had to deal with this sort of issue at the footy, and we don't take it lightly," he said.

"It's just not good enough to have that sort of behaviour on the ground or off the ground or anywhere, for that matter.

"He's a young man in this situation and that's disappointing.

"I think the more important issue is that we can't be tolerating any sort of racial or discriminatory behaviour around sport or anywhere in society.

"I think something we can all do better is recognising and calling it out and not accepting it, not accepting any of that type of behaviour."

How does it feel?

Victoria University's Dr Matthew Klugman, who co-authored Black And Proud, the story behind the iconic photograph of Nicky Winmar, said vilification had a devastating effect on the victim.

Matthew Klugman says constant re-airing of the comments are hurtful for all involved. ( Supplied )

"It is a deeply humiliating process that is deeply alienating," he said.

"It affects mental health, as we saw with the way booing was turned into an act of racial hatred.

"We saw what that did to Adam Goodes, and the airing of [The Australian Dream] just the other night on the ABC kind of brought all of that up again.

"These things link back and evoke the trauma of our violent colonisation of this land."

But why the silent process?

Dr Klugman said he believed the league was trying to respect the mediation process and limit the damage done by the vilification.

"The airing of and re-airing that over and over again is intensely hurtful for those people," he said.

"It can limit the abilities of both parties to speak out.

The iconic photo of Nicky Winmar reacting to racist taunts. ( Supplied: NewSouth Books )

"But I think it is really important to approach these matters from a trauma-informed perspective and to know that certain comments or phrases can have a devastating effect, not just on the individuals concerned, but then is read over and over again by other people who have also been the target of racial vilification."

He likened it in some respects to the vilification of Carlton player Tayla Harris, who called out the AFL for not moderating social media comments.

Given a second chance

Larson was kicked out of the sport in 2018 after he struck Robe player Craig Pitt while playing for Kalangadoo in the Mid South-East Football League in South Australia.

He incurred a seven-match suspension for that incident, invoking the rule that a player banned for more than 16 weeks in their career shall be deregistered from the AFL.

But less than 18 months later, an application from his childhood club St Marys passed through the NTFL re-registration panel and Larson was back on the field just in time for the 2019-20 season.

An AFLNT statement at the time said: "The panel was satisfied that Leroy displayed genuine commitment to his rehabilitation over the course of the past 12 months, which will continue into the future.

"The love he has for the game and the club will contribute to Leroy's success in returning to the game.

"Leroy talked to what he needs to do if he ever found himself in a position on field, and that should he reoffend, the opportunity to ever be back involved in the sport he grew up playing will be gone for life.

"The panel felt that his dedication to the mentoring of the juniors and talking about his past to the younger players coming through while out of the sport, highlights that he doesn't want to be back in this position."

Editor's Note 27/02/2020: This story has been updated since its original publication date of 26/02/2020 to say that a decision has been taken to deregister Leroy Larson