Mr Barsby said the former Suns player was subjected to abuse and discrimination in the locker room from his first day in the AFL and "he was silenced" after his requests for help were ignored. "The real issue here was the systemic issue behind the scenes, " he said. "This culture of silence, this culture of hush money, this culture of protecting the club at all means and making sure that victims were gagged and that people weren’t allowed to talk about their harrowing experiences." Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Mr Barsby said the issue was "entrenched in the AFL" and that Mr Wilkinson's case was "just the tip of the iceberg".

The AFL has apologised to Mr Wilkinson for what he has experienced during his playing career and vowed to "respond to the legal process as required". "We are sorry that Mr Wilkinson suffered experiences of racial abuse during his time as an AFL footballer," the AFL said in a statement. "He has previously shared his experience of racial abuse, helping educate the community via a series of social awareness videos produced with the AFL. "We respect a person’s right to pursue claims through the legal system. We will continue to work with Joel to seek to resolve this matter." The legal case will allege Mr Wilkinson was the target of discrimination, vilification and harassment on both racial and religious grounds by AFL staff, his club, club officials, teammates as well as opposition players and spectators.

It will also be alleged the former Gold Coast player was subjected to racially motivated sexual harassment in the changerooms by other players on numerous occasions. Allegations have also been levelled against the AFL including claims that Mr Wilkinson’s employment contract with the AFL and the Suns was breached as a result of the discrimination and harassment he suffered. The legal case will also allege Mr Wilkinson was not offered future employment with the AFL or various clubs because he had spoken up about racism against him and because of his association with other players who were also subjected to racial discrimination. There are two incidents on the public record where Wilkinson was racially vilified, once by an opponent and once by a spectator, with the AFL taking action at the time. Former Western Bulldogs player Justin Sherman was suspended for four weeks for racial comments directed at Wilkinson during a game in 2011.

Collingwood also suspended a supporter's membership after he directed comments at Wilkinson during a game at the MCG in 2012, but the supporter was still able to attend games. After the incident came to light, Wilkinson praised his Collingwood opponent Dale Thomas - who now plays with Carlton - for reporting the incident after the match. Mr Barsby said Mr Wilkinson was labelled as "a grandstander and troublemaker" and the AFL failed in its duty of care to protect him from the alleged abuse and discrimination. "Here's an opportunity for the AFL, our national sporting code, to come clean," Mr Barsby said. “In Australia, playing AFL is a full-time job for many young people and like any job there are laws to protect your rights in the workplace.

"The AFL isn't exempt from these laws just because it is a national past time. Sport is a business, players are employees. "They have let our client down and allowed the abuse to continue, it's cut short his career and he's been punished for speaking out being shunned by clubs for his stance against racism." Shine Lawyers employment law expert Will Barsby. Credit:Toby Crockford Ms Barsby said compensation negotiations with the AFL had failed and Mr Wilkinson had only been offered "standard" assistance by the AFL Players Association after reporting his experiences. American lawyer Mika Hilaire said the former Sun's player's case showed that "enough is enough".