Justin Sherman Biography

Former Sun Joel Wilkinson speaks about being racially abused by then-Western Bulldog Justin Sherman in his first AFL match in round 14, 2011.

"My first game, and I'm out there playing and I heard the remark from a player, an opposition player, 'You black c***,'" he recalls in the video.

"I remember just thinking, 'How do I go about this?'

"I was at the point where I actually was prepared to fight him, just to put the spotlight on the issue and make it a big issue.

"I remember being in the rooms with the captains and the coach. They said to me, 'Joel, what do you want to do?'

"I remember saying that I want something to happen, because I could actually feel him thinking he was superior to me, and he felt like I was worthless.

"I actually felt like he was trying to make me feel like I was a little kid, a little black kid, a little piece of dirt. And he was just a superior being."

The Western Bulldogs have let Justin Sherman go, despite the forward having one more year left on his contract.

"Justin and the club agreed that there were limited on-field opportunities for him next season and that it was best to part ways," Bulldogs football manager James Fantasia said.

"We wish Justin the best in his future endeavours."

Justin Sherman will try to find a new club via the pre-season draft after the Bulldogs failed to find a suitable trade for him.

"It wasn't a shock when it was decided it would be best to cut ties," Sherman's manager Liam Pickering said.

"It was then a case of, 'Where do we go from here?' The club was thinking along the same lines as we were, that the partnership's probably at an end, so let's work out an agreement and see if Justin can find a new home in the pre-season draft."

Bulldogs forward Justin Sherman will spend four weeks in the VFL after he admitted he had racially vilified an an unnamed Gold Coast player.

"The AFL will not accept any form of vilification in our game and will continue to act strongly and immediately in this area," AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson said.

"I want to acknowledge the way in which the Gold Coast Suns and the Western Bulldogs have addressed this issue with the utmost importance, and also to acknowledge Justin Sherman for taking responsibility for his actions."

Bulldog Justin Sherman has apologised for an on-field racial slur against Nigerian born Gold Coast player Joel Wilkinson.

"I'm extremely ashamed and embarrassed by my actions on the weekend," Sherman read from a statement.

"I recognise that what I said was offensive, degrading and very hurtful, and for that I sincerely apologise.

"I am devastated and want everyone to know that this is completely out of character and it will never happen again."

Justin Sherman is banned for four matches for racial vilification and AFL operations manager Adrian Anderson says such behaviour will not be tolerated.

There's no place for it in football anymore. AFL is a game for everyone and we won't tolerate this sort of behaviour," Anderson said.

"It does beggar belief that a player in this day and age could racially vilify an opponent and I hope to never see it again."

Western Bulldogs recruit Justin Sherman says he has been rejuvenated since arriving at the club from the Brisbane Lions last year.

"I'm happy again, I'm loving footy. When I'm playing my best footy is when I'm happy and I'm enjoying the game. That's why I made the move down here (to Melbourne) and so far I've got that enjoyment back in my footy," Sherman said.

New Western Bulldog Justin Sherman has apologised for the impression he gave of the Brisbane Lions at a press conference.

"I was really keen to express my excitement about joining the Bulldogs yesterday and that probably led me to saying certain things that are not a true reflection of my thoughts," Sherman said.

"I apologise if I have caused any offence to anyone at my former club and want to make it clear that the last thing I wanted to do was criticise an organisation that has given me so much."

Jason Akermanis calls for Bulldogs chief David Smorgon's head,  amid a furore over controversial comments made by departed Lions player Justin Sherman who was critical of the culture at Brisbane.

"That is very predictable behaviour. It's exactly what I've been saying that they shouldn't do because it's not good leadership, but they think it is," Akermanis said.

"This guy is speaking from the heart. Big deal. I've been there and done that on exactly the same trip as him and I heard the same spiel. It's almost like a complete lack of understanding of the real world and how it works."

Western Bulldogs recruit Justin Sherman says the mixed messages he was getting at the Brisbane Lions were behind his decision to leave.

"I wanted to make sure going ahead that I could continue to be a great footy player, and to be that I need to be in the right culture and get continuity of one position," Sherman said.

"To be a good player, you need to play in the one position and play it really well, and know your role each week, and I think here I'm going to be provided with that."

New Western Bulldog addition Justin Sherman says he feels he was stagnating at the Brisbane Lions.

"For me it was always an individual feeling that I had that I could no longer be at the Lions and give my 100 per cent commitment every week," Sherman said.

"In my head it was quite clear what I needed to do and where I needed to be and that was the Western Bulldogs footy club."

Brisbane Lion Justin Sherman is expected to get his wish and join the Western Bulldogs, with the clubs to finalise the trade on Monday.

"Obviously it's gone on for a week, but in the end he really wanted to get to the Dogs and it's good that we've got an agreement," Sherman's manager Liam Pickering said.

"Sydney had genuine interest and they put a terrific presentation in front of him, but in the end ... he's done the travelling every second week from Brisbane so he just thought the best thing was to get to Melbourne."

Lion Justin Sherman's management says he won't join the Swans under any circumstances despite Sydney showing interest, demanding a trade to the Bulldogs.

"The Lions are doing their due diligence and they're trying to get the best deal they possibly can," Bulldogs list manager James Fantasia said.

"But Justin has made it very clear that he will only leave if he can join a club in Melbourne and he wants to go to the Western Bulldogs."

Justin Sherman's hopes of joining the Bulldogs have dimmed with the Lions' determination to deal with the Swans.

"They (the Lions) want a first-round draft pick, which we're going to give them, but they want to get something a bit earlier than that and he (Sherman) doesn't want to go anywhere else," Bulldogs football manager James Fantasia said.