Héritier Lumumba (formerly known as Heritier 'Harry' O'Brien; born 15 November 1986) is an Australian-Brazilian-Congolese former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club and Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Known for his ability to turn defense into offense and his effectiveness in various roles, Lumumba was a trailblazer in the Australian Football League as its inaugural Multicultural Ambassador and the first and only player of Brazilian and Congolese descent.
Lumumba's professional football career commenced with the Collingwood Football Club in 2004. With Collingwood, he gained All-Australian honors, won an AFL premiership, and was recognized for his leadership qualities, earning a place in Collingwood's leadership group. In 2014, Lumumba was traded to the Melbourne Football Club, where he made an immediate impact on the team and continued in a leadership role until his retirement in 2016, due to a concussion.
In addition to his distinguished on field career, Lumumba played a significant role in promoting human rights and community engagement. Former Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, nominated Lumumba as a multicultural ambassador of Australia, via the people of Australia program. His stance on racial and cultural issues has also invited public scrutiny and controversy. However, his dedication to fostering dialogue on the critical social issues remains a constant thread in his public persona. Post-retirement, Lumumba has transitioned into roles in High Performance, Strategic Partnerships, and in Ethnobotanical research. In April 2023, he was appointed the High Performance and Strategic Partnerships director of the Congolese National Rugby Federation.
Playing career
Collingwood
The Lumumba played most of his football as a medium defender. He was selected with pick 21 in the 2004 AFL Rookie Draft by Collingwood, and made his debut in Round 18 of 2005 against Fremantle at the MCG. He kicked a goal against the Kangaroos shortly after his debut, and did enough to be retained on the rookie list. In 2006 he showed more improvement and was elevated to the senior list again during the year, this time due to the absence of Sean Rusling, playing a total of nine games.
Coach Mick Malthouse at one point in an interview challenged the AFL's rules on rookies in response to not being able to permanently play Lumumba in the seniors on the basis of his excellent form.
He was elevated to the senior list for season 2007. In 2008, he came 5th in the Copeland Trophy count, Collingwood's best and fairest. In 2009, he came 4th in the Copeland Trophy.
He played in numbers 43, 30 and his final number 8. In 2010, he won All-Australian honours playing off the half-back flank. He was instrumental in Collingwood's 2010 grand final replay win over St Kilda and kicked a long goal from the boundary line late in the game.
Melbourne
On 15 October 2014, after issues with the club and management, Lumumba and Collingwood agreed to part ways and he joined the Melbourne Football Club in a three-club deal with Mitch Clark going to and Travis Varcoe joining Collingwood.
Lumumba made his Melbourne debut in round 1, 2015, against , in what was also his 200th AFL game. He kicked a goal in a 26-point win for his new club.
Lumumba missed the round one match against in 2016, before playing the next five matches; he missed the remainder of the season after suffering from concussion symptoms. Despite being cleared to train by Melbourne doctors, he did not return to pre-season training in November after being advised to retire by several specialists. He retired from AFL football in December.
Racism allegations
In 2017, the documentary Fair Game was released about Heritier's life and his stories of racism while playing professional football. He called the culture at Collingwood a "boys' club for racist and sexist jokes" and stated that his teammates nicknamed him "chimp", a term with a strong history of connotations as a racial slur against black people. He stood up to the racism and continues to do so.
On Network 10's The Project, Lumumba was interviewed by Waleed Aly about his experiences and was disappointed in Aly's response to the interview, as Lumumba felt that he approached the interview with the "preconceived idea that we would both see eye to eye on the basic truths of racism/white supremacy ... However, it is now very clear to me, that he and I have fundamental differences in our understanding of what racism/white supremacy is, and how it should be effectively dealt with." Lumumba felt that he was undermined by Aly and claimed that Aly was indifferent to racism.