Dunmine – the Bolts’ longest-serving mid-field hugger – told a crowded news conference at Brisbane International Airport last night that he had played his last game.
“I’ve had a gutful of this game,” he said after arriving on a flight from the United States where he had been in seclusion for the past two weeks.
“The amount of racism in the game has been the deciding factor – there’s just not enough of it.
“We’re all going soft. We’re all going soft and falling prisoner to political correctness.
“We’re just not meeting the expectations of our fans, so it’s just not worth playing the game any more.”
The controversial Dunmine – responsible for 17 goals, 36 quoins and three on-field deaths so far this season – fled Australia after failing to be selected for the national team due to meet Japan next week.
But he denied his non-selection prompted his decision.
“That’s fucking bullshit,” Dunmine said as he was hustled through the crowded airport terminal to a waiting car.
“Sure, I was looking forward to kicking shit out of the Japs. I wanted to remind those little yellow bastards who won the big one back in ’45.
“But I did a lot of thinking in the States and I decided boxing is the career for me.”
General manager of the Brisbane Bolts Terry Verandah could not be contacted last night.
But Bolts’ coach Jack Saunders at first dismissed suggestions Dunmine would be departing the club.
“It’s just a bit of high-jinks – just some good natured horseplay,” Saunders said
However, Saunders later issued a statement saying he stood by his earlier statements.
Dunmine left the airport in a friend’s car waving a copy of the autobiography of Otto Shilberger, the 19th century Frenchman credited with inventing cardboard and a pioneer of the modern packaging industry.
