Izak Rankine believes that footy saved his life following his traumatic childhood.
However, the Adelaide Crows star admitted that he was left feeling like he wanted to give up on the sport after he was banned for four games at the end of the 2025 season after he used a homophobic slur during his side’s Round 23 victory against Collingwood.
In a wide-reaching and honest interview with Ausmerican Aces, the 25-year-old lifted the lid on what it was like to grow up as one of seven siblings, how he slept rough on the streets with his friends and how he was once taken away from his family.
Rankine stated that he developed mental health issues, including anxiety and depression as a result of those experiences.
‘As a kid, I was fostered out early on in my life. And I think as you get older to my age now, 25 going on 26, that is when all those things start to affect you,’ he told the podcast.
‘You start to realise what you had to go through as a kid. In a lot of instances, I would see the carers come and grab me and remove me from the house. I can picture it now, just seeing my parents crying or seeing some of the other kids get taken from their families and have them crying and things.’
Footy player Izak Rankine has opened up on how he feels footy saved his life, but revealed in an open and honest interview that he wanted to give up the sport after he was banned in 2025
‘So there was a lot of trauma growing up. But as you look back, in the moment, it was always just: “How do I survive this? This is what’s happening. How do I deal with the next step? What am I going to do now?” And often it was drugs and it was alcohol. People do look for the easy option.’
Rankine, who was drafted to the Gold Coast Suns as a third pick in the 2018 AFL National Draft, revealed that he and his friends would sleep on the streets, something that at the time he saw as ‘normal’.
‘There was a lot of times where I would go into the city or somewhere or we would meet halfway in the city and we’d just go sleep in the park or just stay up as long as we can.
‘Just to give you an example, you would just go to a party or you’d go somewhere, you’d hang out, you’d cruise around the city or the suburbs and wouldn’t go to sleep until you were all tired.
‘And then you would just find a park and go sleep for like two hours and then go to someone’s house or find something to do.’
At times, he and his friends were left foraging for change that had been dropped around the streets.
‘You cruise around and people would be like picking, you know, dollars off the floor and just worrying about change,’ he added.
Rankine also revealed that one of his sisters had struggled with addiction and had spent time in a rehabilitation facility, while another family member had gone to jail.
The Adelaide Crows player was handed a four-match ban at the end of the 2025 season after he used a homophobic slur against a Collingwood player
The 25-year-old opened up on experiencing trauma as a child. He lifted the lid on being separated from his parents, sleeping on the streets and ‘robbing people’
Dealing with those issues as a youngster was tough for the 25-year-old, who added: ‘If I didn’t have footy or if I didn’t have another light to look down, just like what else are you going to do? Because it’s cool because you’re gangster. You know what I mean? Because you got to hang out with the boys.’
He revealed that he and his friends would ‘hang out all night and then go look through houses, then we go through cars.’
‘We used to do that sort of stuff, like try and rob people,’ Rankine said. ‘Like what else at that age? Like, you don’t know anything else at that age, it’s so easy, and it’s fun to do. When you get to 18, 17, 16, that’s when you really start to have to make decisions and figure out what you want to do. Too often, people are already stuck in those habits that their environment has given them or their circumstances has given them.’
The Crows star explained that he had received support from his teachers and those around him, who he believes helped him on the right path. He added that they could ‘probably see the talent or the gifts that I had.’
The midfielder grew up playing footy for both Edwardstown and Flinders Park before moving to SANFL side West Adelaide.
He was described as a ‘once in a generation type player’ by former AFL national talent football manager Mick Ablett and would regularly find himself playing above his age.
The Bloods were so impressed with his abilities that he was handed his senior debut with the SANFL club at the age of 16. Rankine kicked two goals during that match.
Rankine (pictured with Calista Mittiga) also spoke out on suffering from racism during his school days, revealing that he got into fights as he tried to stand up to the abuse
Sport was a coping mechanism for Rankine (front-centre) who would go on to make his SANFL senior debut at the age of 16
Sports were always a coping mechanism for the youngster, who would play everything from basketball to tennis as he looked to get out of the house. In fact, Rankine’s schedule was so packed that at one stage he was playing in the SANFL, representing his school footy side and fitting basketball in between matches.
He admitted that he had to deal with a lot of racism during his school days, adding that he would get into fights as he tried to stand up to those who racially abused him.
‘Going through school was tough because I’m light-skinned. So my Nanna is black and has really dark skin. My nieces and nephews are really dark-skinned. You go to school where there’s a lot of lighter people and the casual racism is crazy.
‘The number of fights I got in or just sticking up, saying: “Hey, watch your mouth.” Or, “Don’t say that.” And they’re like: “Oh, well, you’re not like that black, but you’re not like you’re not really like you’re only like half.”‘
After signing for the Suns in 2018, he would agonisingly be forced to wait until 2020 to make his AFL debut, after suffering multiple hamstring and hip injuries.
On debut, he impressed again, booting three goals during the Suns’ Round Six match against Melbourne, before going on to be named in the 22Under22 teams in 2020 and 2022.
He’d join up with the Crows in 2023, and has been pivotal in helping Matthew Nicks’ side finish as minor premiers for the first time since 2017.
Rankine booted 31 goals across 22 matches, but was handed a four-match ban for issuing a homophobic slur to Collingwood’s Isaac Quaynor.
The midfielder was drafted to the Gold Coast in 2018 but would not go on to make his AFL debut until 2020 due to a series of hamstring and hip injuries
As a result, the 25-year-old was unable to feature in the Crows’ finals campaign.
He’d take a trip abroad to Italy in the wake of the saga but upon his return fronted members of the media to express his deep remorse over the matter. He added that ‘in no way was he a victim’.
‘There was no excuse. It was wrong and I take full responsibility,’ he said in September.
‘I’m disappointed in myself and I know I have let a lot of people down. I want to apologise to anyone who I have hurt and offended. I understand that word was offensive, harmful, it’s hurtful and has no place in our game or our society.’
Rankine has now, for the first time, spoken publicly about the suspension and took a moment to again apologise for the incident.
‘Just to say, I am sorry to anyone that I affected or caused any havoc to,’ he told the Ausmerican Aces podcast.
‘Like I never meant to do that but all I can say is that, you know, I put my hand up and let’s move forward together because we’re on the same we’re on the same side. We’re on the same team.’
Rankine admitted that the situation left him wanting to give up on footy.
‘I was in a very, very dark, very, very low place. But then again, that belief in me that was just: “You’re going to bounce back. You’re going to be better. You’re not a bad person. You can still come out and do the best you can. You can still be the best. This doesn’t define you”.’
Rankine has now, for the first time, spoken publicly about the suspension and took a moment to again apologise for the incident
During his time away from the footy field, Rankine said he completed some self-reflection work, spent time meditating and did lots of journaling.
‘The turning point was just like obviously being at the bottom and just thinking: “I can either sit here, wave the white flag, just sit here and give up,” because I wanted to retire. I wanted to finish.
‘You want to give up. You want to retire. Depression and things like that, I was dealing with that stuff already through my family and through the circumstances I was given.
‘So, it was very tough to then be hit again and sat on my a** a bit. That was tough, like having to deal with family issues, being one of the leaders in my community and being looked upon for things and expected to be places and show your face and things like that and just look after everyone in the community. It was tough.
He added: ‘You start to question who you are and you start to question what you’ve been doing and how you’ve been acting and you know who you’ve been hanging around with and what’s been really going on and why you are where you are.’
The Adelaide star said he was ‘100 per cent proud’ of the work he has done on himself following the controversy.
He added: ‘I put my hand up completely. It is something that I don’t live by. I don’t stand by.
‘It’s something that I know I made the mistake and I wasn’t trying to avoid the mistake.
‘I’m very grateful for the people that were around me, the lessons I learned from that mistake and the person who has come out on the other side of the whole situation.’
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