Melbourne Storm: Uproar as Aboriginal rapper Briggs suddenly pulls his support for his favourite footy team after 25 YEARS – because of board member’s Voice No campaign act
High-profile Indigenous rapper Briggs has announced he will no longer support the Melbourne Storm – despite supporting the side since its inception – after one of the footy team’s board members donated money to the No campaign.
The rapper, real name Adam Briggs, wrote a scathing letter to Storm chairman Matthew Tripp on Thursday, targeting company director Brett Ralph for giving No campaign group Advance Australia a $75,000 donation ahead of the referendum.
Briggs – who was behind a viral Yes campaign advert explaining the Indigenous Voice to Parliament to two women in a pub – claimed the Indigenous Voice to Parliament No campaign had “devalued my people and my Yorta Yorta/Wurundjeri identity.”
“It has reinforced stereotypes about devaluing our contribution to Australian society and nation, and increased the burden of irrelevance.
“Doing this added to the already endless workload of myself, my father and the Indigenous community.
“A donation to ‘No’ was a donation to spread and amplify misinformation and fear mongering against Indigenous people.”
Briggs – who was behind a viral Yes campaign advert explaining the Indigenous vote in parliament to two women in a pub – claimed the No campaign had ‘devalued my people and my Yorta Yorta/Wurundjeri identity’
Briggs said he and his father had supported Melbourne Storm since its inception as a new NRL club in 1998 and had developed “lasting friendships” at all levels of the club.
Briggs said he and his father had supported the Storm since its inception as a new NRL club in 1998 and had developed “lasting friendships” at all levels of the club.
‘Does Brett Ralph’s decision as a Storm board member coincide with the club’s decision to support the ‘Yes’ campaign?’ Briggs asked in the letter.
“Do Brett Ralph’s values align with those of the Storm generally, and can the Melbourne Storm Rugby League continue to support both Brett Ralph and the culture and identity of First Nation People?
‘I do not think so.’
While many who responded to posts about the letter expressed their support, others labeled Briggs “a soe.”
“Goodbye, Adam,” one person posted.
“Briggs is quickly becoming a nuisance to his own people,” another noted.
Melbourne Storm board member Brett Ralph, who donated thousands to the No campaign and caused rapper Briggs to end his support of the NRL club
The rapper had been a prominent voice in the Yes campaign, which was soundly defeated in last Saturday’s referendum, losing in every state except the ACT.
Following the failure of the Voice’s proposal, Briggs on Tuesday ignored the ‘week of silence’ observed by other prominent Indigenous leaders sending a blunt message to white Australians in the aftermath of the election.
“There’s something about white people in Aus. You don’t think Blackfullas have had to deal with this depravity before,” Briggs wrote.
‘We had to deal with it every day. Before the “No,” it was a SuperBowl. For me it was Saturday.’
Adam Briggs (right) arrives at the 2023 Brownlow Medal ceremony
The rapper had been a prominent voice in the Yes campaign, which was comprehensively defeated in last Saturday’s referendum, losing in every state except the ACT.
Briggs’ viral video during the campaign, in which he explained the Voice in simple terms to two questionable women in a pub, was considered one of the most effective ‘cut-through’ media tools for the Yes side, in a campaign that was widely was criticized for being too slow. out of the blocks.
But it had no effect on the national mood, with 60 percent of Australians rejecting the proposal.