Richmond and Collingwood players took a knee before their AFL clash to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
The gesture was been ticked off by both clubs and the AFL as the Victorian rivals relaunch the season after a three-month break at the MCG on Thursday night.
A player-led initiative, the Tigers and Magpies are determined to take a united stand for the worldwide cause against systemic racism.
It is expected the league's other 16 clubs will display similar shows of unity during the weekend's remaining eight games.
"Certainly both our clubs are endorsing and supportive of our players doing that and they'll do that just before the bounce. We strongly support them doing so," Magpies chief executive Mark Anderson told ABC Radio.
Players and umpires kneel on the centre circle during the AFL match between the Collingwood Magpies and the Richmond Tigers Source: Getty Images
AFL boss Gillon McLachlan said, "racism needs to be stamped out".
"It is an important issue for our players, for our clubs and the AFL," he told Sunrise.
Several other AFL clubs, including Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne, Melbourne and Brisbane, have already posted photos and messages on social media in support of the worldwide movement.
Bulldogs defender Jason Johannisen, who spent the first eight years of his life in South Africa, declared he was "done doing nothing".
"All I ask for you to do is simply, with an open heart, just listen and understand what people of colour have been through," the 2016 Norm Smith medallist wrote on social media.
AFL Players Association president Patrick Dangerfield said footballers felt a responsibility for the support not to be "tokenistic".
"I think it's being there for them (AFL's Indigenous players), that they're comfortable with everything that's happening but also how can we improve it?" the Geelong superstar told reporters.
"How can it be something more than that, that's ongoing and we facilitate and really drive real change within all Australians."
Dangerfield said Geelong and Hawthorn were yet to settle on the most appropriate way to acknowledge the movement during their match on Friday night.
Hawks star Chad Wingard has recently been calling out racism in Australia via social media and has expressed frustration with a lack of diversity in the mainstream media.
"We've got some really passionate young Indigenous players (at Geelong) and we have to make sure we are educating our community better than we currently do," Dangerfield said.
Black Lives Matters protests took place in the United States after the death in police custody of George Floyd which were followed in Australia last weekend and across the world.
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick first started the practice of kneeling during the United States national anthem before NFL games in 2016.
Colin Kaepernick (c) kneels alongside San Francisco 49ers teammates during the 2016 NFL season. Source: Getty Images
The action caused controversy in US sport with Donald Trump attacking Kaepernick for disrespecting the flag, while leagues and sports governing bodies banned players from kneeling.
On Thursday, US Soccer voted to repeal their 2017 ban on players kneeling in response to Black Lives Matters protests across the country, while hundreds of players from the NBA, NFL and NHL have indicated they will once again start kneeling before games when competitions resume.
