Morgan, the AFL are not in a tight spot, they enable all the problems exposed in regards to racist attitudes amongst club officialdom, by not dealing with the problem. You cant tell me that Gillon & co don't hear the remarks that many regard as "casual racism" , think that it's ok for Eddie to just brush aside the accusations, refuse to acknowledge the wider problem with administrations and media.
As for the glory days of the early 80's, while the coaches of the Tigers, Souths, and Swans were honest in their attempts to bring an end to the racist attitudes prevailing at the time, administrations, media, supporters, and some players were not on the same page. Imagine what a different footy world we could have seen, had the people at the top, and the media had the guts to fully support Brownie, Toddy & Mossy.