Hawthorn AFL great Dermott Brereton apologised on national television on Thursday for racially abusing West Coast's Chris Lewis during the 1991 grand final.

Brereton and Lewis appeared alongside each other on the Nine Network's The Footy Show program as Brereton claimed that 20 years ago players lacked the education of the modern-day footballers on issues such as racial vilification.

"We're much better educated now. I profusely apologise for what wedid in those days," Brereton told the program.

"Back in those days, racial vilification, gee, I don't think those two words had been used together.

"So we went and gave it to Chris Lewis and I reckon it boiled over."

Lewis, who missed 23 matches through suspension in his 215-game career, said he was disappointed the Eagles didn't pursue the racial issue with the AFL at the time. But he admitted it was a prickly issue.

"After getting suspended and not being able to play because of retaliating and all that sort of stuff, you just sort of learn to put up with it," Lewis said.

"Black `c' and all this sort of stuff. The crowd were quite vocal in that sort of area which was always a bit upsetting."

Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse, who was the Eagles mentor in the early 1990s, said the behaviour of AFL players at the time to racially taunt indigenous opponents was "absolutely disgraceful".

"I don't think era has got anything to do with it," Malthouse said.

Brereton said he was now better-educated on the topic.

"Only now in this day and age do we understand what we've done," he said.

"I've apologised to Chris Lewis since. I have a pretty dark sort of memory of it and it's something I'm not proud of.

"Chris Lewis was our number one target. He was an extraordinary player.

"We got word from a team that `Lewy' had been put off his game by taunts, racially based, so we thought `anything to curb this bloke's brilliance'.

"When he crossed paths we'd say something to him. I'm more well-educated on it now.

"I profusely apologise for what we did in those days. The extent that it hits home, we didn't understand."

Lewis said he accepted that Brereton's apology was fair dinkum and that Brereton was "trying to right a wrong".

Malthouse said he was concerned about how the Eagles had failed to do more to support Lewis at the time.

"We accepted it and we have to pay for that, as a nation, as a league and as individuals," the triple premiership coach said.

Racism remains a problem for the AFL, with Hawthorn's Lance Franklin and West Coast's Nic Naitanui both racially abused by fans during matches in 2011.

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