It's been a week of accolades for the Subiaco Football Club but the 2014 WAFL premiers are now facing criticism after players were photographed in "blackface" during Mad Monday finals celebrations.
Twitter user Mark Reed said he spotted the photograph in a newspaper and later shared the picture on his account.
Mr Reed understood that two players in the photograph were dressed as tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams. Others were dressed as women, pirates and superheroes.
Subiaco
#wafl players @ Mad Monday. Note "The Williams Sisters". Because there hasn't be enough said about blackface
pic.twitter.com/F4oW14vj1c — Mark_ebooks (@markreedwa)
September 23, 2014
"It seems like every couple of months in this country we come up against some blackface problem where some invariably white male athlete has put a bit of boot polish on and done something which is quite offensive to a lot of people in the community," Mr Reed said.
"I think when you're dealing with issues of racism, when you overwhelmingly get feedback from an ethnicity that they're offended by something, then that should be the end of it.
"Minorities don't want to be pushed around or denigrated in this way and that message has been put out there a number of times, loud and clear."
A number of social media users defended the players and described the stunt as "harmless fun", while others wrote that it was "insulting and demeaning".
Some suggested Mad Monday celebrations should be "off-limits" for media attention.
A 2009 reboot of Hey Hey It's Saturday sparked an international outcry when a Red Faces skit was aired in which white men impersonated the Jackson Five wearing black wigs and face paint. A man, who said he was of Indian heritage, wore white face paint to impersonate the late Michael Jackson.
The Subiaco Football Club declined to comment on the issue, while a WAFL spokesperson said the organisation "supports Subiaco celebrating a fantastic premiership win but does not condone any actions that would cause offence".
The league indicated it would raise the matter with the club and urged all players participating in end-of-season celebrations "to be responsible and respectful".
