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Heritier Lumumba,left,with Nathan Buckley,right,at a Collingwood training session in 2014.Credit:Justin McManus

Pies director Peter Murphy chairs the committee,with chief executive Mark Anderson and Indigenous director Jodie Sizer also part of the committee for this investigation.

"This is a serious issue. As a board we have come together and unanimously agreed we
need to take action. The integrity committee has started to map a way forward,"Sizer said.

"From my perspective the whole of Australia is on an important journey as it deals with racism,the impacts of racism and considers what,as a nation,we want to be and are to become.

"Collingwood is also on its own journey and important to both quests is truth telling. Understanding the truth,owning the truth and supporting those in sharing their truths is a key next step for any action.

"We would like to talk with and listen to Heritier because his truth is a critical part of this."

In making the announcement,the Pies said they would not be commenting further on the matter until the investigation is complete.

Lumumba,who left the Pies at the end of 2014 to join Melbourne,had previously raised allegations of racism before renewing them in the midst of the Black Lives Matter uprising.

"I had the nickname Chimp between 2005 - 2013,and there was a culture of racist jokes,"Lumumba,who is of Brazilian and Congolese heritage,wrote.

He condemned the club's actions,taking aim at coach Nathan Buckley.

"I spoke out against McGuire's racism[towards Adam Goodes],on 28/5/2013 and was ostracised internally for doing so,particularly from Buckley,who stated,'You threw the president under the bus.'

"They viewed what I did as wrong,and remained unapologetic about it,and as a result,I was treated differently,for the worse."

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