“I knew football was my destiny… But the biggest burning desire I had as a 14-year-old was to use the position I had in this country – once I got that privilege – to give people a voice.”

Growing up in commission housing in Fitzroy, O’Brien experienced the best and worst of football from a very early age. On the one hand, he says football provided him with “the only time in my childhood where I felt like I belonged in Australia.”

On the other, his talent brought out an ugliness in those around him.

“I showed potential from seven or eight years of age,” he recalls.

“But I experienced a lot of racism.”

O’Brien remembers an under 10s match in which he was “targeted” by an opposition coach, who sent two players to continually bump into him.

“As they saw they couldn’t keep up with me and take me off my game – even though they were bumping into me within the rules – they started to go beyond the rules,” O’Brien says.

“When you can generate the quality of empathy, ignorance is completely eliminated” – O’Brien

“They started to call me all sorts of names under the sun. I let it go for about ten minutes, but it got to a point where it just got so bad I remember I just ran off the field and said I’m never going to play this game ever again.”

But it was what happened next that really stuck in O’Brien’s memory.

“I remember looking over to the opposition coach and he was clapping those kids. That’s very overt racism, at its finest. I’ve experienced things from that level to the level that’s ignorance – people who don’t know what they’re saying. And I still experience that today.”

Since debuting for Collingwood in 2008, O’Brien has ensured his voice has been heard on issues that resonate far beyond the football field. He has worked as a multicultural ambassador for the AFL, and lists UNICEF and the Marley Family’s One Love project as associations he’s proud to have been involved with.

Born in Rio De Janeiro “to a Brazilian mother and an African father from the Democratic Republic of Congo”, O’Brien feels he’s “inherited the spirit from both my mother and father’s sides – the importance of doing what you can to ensure those that are in need are able to get assistance.”

O’Brien has seen first-hand how football can influence change in communities, and is hopeful the game will continue to grow as people of varying ethnicities are welcomed to the game.

“There are so many talented kids out there; particularly from African communities and Sudanese communities,” O’Brien says.

“They have so much talent and they bring something so different to the game. This is something the AFL is really focusing on – creating different pathways for kids that are being excluded.”

“For 25 per cent of AFL players, [either] one of their parents was born overseas or they were born overseas. They’re staggering numbers and they’re just going to keep growing. As the AFL invests more money in this area, we’ll start to see more players from more backgrounds.”

O’Brien is thankful footy has given him a voice, and hopes the next generation of footballers are given the same opportunity to share their stories.

“When you expand awareness and can make someone feel some sort of connection to suffering that’s going on, they feel empathy. When you can generate the quality of empathy, ignorance is completely eliminated.”

Words by Sam McInerney