Young Jewish footballer hit by online antisemitic abuse

HARRY SHEEZEL was a top AFL draft pick. He shrugged off hateful comments to celebrate, reports ASHLEY BROWNE.

Harry Sheezel didn’t have to wait long at all to learn his AFL football future.

North Melbourne called out his name with the third selection overall at Monday night’s AFL National Draft and some time on Tuesday he will report to the club’s Arden Street headquarters to begin life as a professional footballer.

It caps off a meteoric rise for Sheezel, who this time a year ago, was not considered to be a likely first-round selection, let alone of the most exciting young footballers in Australia.

The 18-year-old, who finished the last of his VCE exams at Mount Scopus College just two weeks before, was embraced by his parents, Dean and Lana Sheezel and other family members before receiving his jumper from North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson.

It was a moment to savour for Sheezel, who grew up a fanatical Hawthorn supporter during the Hawks golden era between 2008 and 2015 when Clarkson coached the club to four premierships. Like Sheezel, Clarkson is in his first season at North Melbourne.

“Yeah, it feels great,” Sheezel said at his first media conference as a League footballer. “We weren't a hundred percent certain (that he would be joining North Melbourne), but we had a good indication and for it to officially happen is great, so yeah, it's pretty cool.”

But while the lavish affair at Marvel Stadium was a grand celebration for Sheezel and his family, the preceding hours were difficult after he was subjected to a series of vile antisemitic taunts in the comments section of the The Age Facebook page in a link to a feature story about him.

Sheezel called the posts “ignorant and uneducated”, and the newspaper apologised to him and the Jewish community, admitting that the normal moderation process failed because editorial resources were devoted to Victorian state election coverage.