Majak Daw
Majak Daw (born 11 March 1991) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club and the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Daw and his family in Australia are refugees from the civil wars in Sudan. Daw became the first Sudanese Australian to be drafted to an AFL club when he was contracted to North Melbourne in the 2009 AFL Draft. Daw's drafting gained international attention; it was reported by the BBC, the Voice of America and Sudan Tribune. His AFL career is to have inspired a whole generation of African Australians to take up the sport and many others who followed his career path. Early life Daw was born in Khartoum, Sudan, the third of his parents' eventual seven children. His family fled the Second Sudanese Civil War, living in Egypt for three years, then moved to Australia in 2003. TAC Cup years Playing for the Western Jets Daw was identified as a future key-position player by North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs. Daw went to the 2009 Victorian Screening portion of the AFL pre-draft testing. He impressed with a 13.6 in the beep test and 3.03 seconds in a 20-metre sprint along with a standing jump of 70 centimetres. He was one of 11 young Australian rules footballers to be given 2010 Mike Fitzpatrick Scholarships awarded by the AFL Players Association and accepted the awards on behalf of the other players. AFL career Draft to North Melbourne Daw was picked up with the ninth pick in the 2010 rookie draft. His draft pick gained international media attention. His career at North Melbourne began with playing for VFL club Werribee, where he continued to develop his game. He made his first appearance for North Melbourne in a pre-season NAB cup match against the Western Bulldogs on 20 February 2011. In April 2011, playing for Werribee, Daw kicked an impressive running goal from beyond 50 m out, prompting calls for his inclusion to the senior team. He made his first appearance for North Melbourne in a NAB Cup match on 20 February 2011. VFL racism incident On 4 June 2011, Majak Daw was racially abused by a Port Melbourne Football Club supporter while he was playing for the Werribee Tigers in the VFL. Daw stated that it "made [him] feel really small". The man has since been banned from all VFL games until he completes an anti-racism workshop and formally apologises to Daw for the slur. The incident has led to renewed calls to stamp out racism in sport, with former Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu calling Daw a hero. Suspension from North Melbourne senior team Daw was suspended from North Melbourne Football Club in February 2012 and remanded to the Werribee Tigers for an indefinite period for lying to the club and coach Brad Scott about a "night on the town" during a period in which he was recovering from knee surgery. AFL debut In 2013, Daw had an excellent showing