Collingwood president Jeff Browne has responded to the bombshell racism claims that have engulfed club CEO Craig Kelly.

Browne said he “totally and absolutely” believed Kelly and was backing the former player in.

The damning claims, that are mostly about Kelly, have been lodged in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

“I don’t think he (Kelly) is the sort of person that would disrespect any other person,” Browne said.

“Just wait to see the outcome of these proceedings before you finally make a judgement on that.

“We’re backing in Craig Kelly … and we intend to fight these proceedings and see them through to a judgement.”

News of the racism scandal surfaced on Tuesday and the media was waiting for Kelly early on Wednesday morning.

He parked his car as close as possible to the club’s entrance and made no comment as he walked past the journalists.

Mark Cleaver, Collingwood’s former head of First Nations strategy, is the sole applicant in the documents, while the Magpies are the only respondent.

Some of the allegations include Kelly making inappropriate jokes about putting a possum in an Indigenous cultural room and calling an Aboriginal elder a “dumb old b****”.

Cleaver suffers from a condition called paresthesia (an abnormal sensation of the skin) caused by multiple sclerosis.

One of Cleaver’s claims is that Kelly would grip their hand so tight to deliberately cause them pain.

On Wednesday, Browne denied the club had a racism problem.

“We implemented all 18 recommendations from the Do Better report,” he said.

“We are the only club that opened ourselves up for external investigation.

“When I came in as president I committed to prosecuting and implementing all of those 18 recommendations.

“Racism and discrimination is a fight that goes on day by day. It never ends. It’s something we’re very conscious of here.

“But the culture in this place as a result of adopting the recommendations from the Do Better report is vastly improved.

“It’s a culture where people feel safe, people of diverse backgrounds feel safe and they feel safe to make complaints if they choose.”

Browne could not have been any stronger in backing Kelly, who took over as Collingwood chief executive in January 2023, to continue in his job.

“From my experience, he’s doing an outstanding job as a CEO of this football club,” Browne said.

“He has the full support of the board and my full support.”

Cleaver worked at Collingwood for six months and Browne said his employment was terminated for reasons unrelated to the complaint lodged in court.

In 2020, the Magpies released an independent review to deal with racism.

Former president Eddie McGuire labelled the release of the Do Better report “a historic and proud day”.

A week after his highly criticised comments, McGuire stood down following more than 20 years in charge..