McNamara,who lives in the United States,was one of the first players to go on the record confirming that the nickname ‘Chimp’ was used at the club to refer to Lumumba and he has spoken about his shock that a player would be given that nickname.
McNamara has previously admitted he did not question or challenge the nickname at the time.
He said in his Twitter thread that he could no longer “bite his tongue” at what had occurred at the club.
“There are a few people I need to acknowledge,for not doing the right thing in speaking up back then and now. You need to know how much your silence on the issue has exacerbated the pain of Heritier&those affected by this the community,” McNamara wrote on Twitter.
McNamara in action for Collingwood in 2011Credit:Sebastian Costanzo
“This isn’t about destroying the club – this is about making sure this is the last time anyone at CFC experiences what he did + in society,” McNamara added in a lengthy twitter thread.
The Age has contacted Collingwood and the former players accused in the tweet for comment. All have declined to comment.
With regard to Ball,McNamara tweeted:“I know you were very close with Heritier in and outside of the club. You knew what he went through and you chose to stay silent when you could have validated his experience. Your self-preservation is really disappointing.”
Addressing Maxwell,who lived with Lumumba. “Your silence in choosing your self-preservation with the club is really disappointing.
“... Coach Buckley,You tried to publicly deny this for several years ... Why are you hiding now?
Are you still being all that you can be?”
“Eddie McGuire,You’ve made yourself and the club what it is – a massive success. With that,takes great pressure and responsibilities. It’s unfortunate that you fumbled a lot of chances to get it right and take the right path.”
“Scott Pendlebury,This is your moment to lead,brother. The last time I saw you,I gave you two leadership books. After your 400+ games,you will be the next CFC coach. In my eyes,your culture starts now – Let’s go!”
It comes as one of the authors of theDo Betterreport,academic Larissa Behrendt,said Collingwood should be given up to six months to turn the club culture around.
“We in the report did lay out a suggested timeframe for implementation which would allow people to hold the club accountable,” she told NITV news on Thursday.
“I think it’s like anything,you hear the scepticism around whether Collingwood can genuinely do this and I think the best way is to see where they are in three months,six months.”