DARCY Vescio's Chinese grandfather saw the Carlton star's footy aspirations as "more of a hobby".
Vescio, who has been a pioneering star of the NAB AFL Women's competition since its advent in 2017, said their parents – mum with a Chinese background, dad of Italian heritage – had worked hard to fit into life in a small country town outside Wangaratta.
But Vescio said their experience growing up had been different.
"Once my Mum started school, her and her siblings refused to speak Chinese anymore, so now she can't speak it at all," they wrote in the foreword to Celestial Footy.
"There was a desperation to assimilate, to fit in, to not draw any attention to difference.
"Dad speaks about the racism that he used to cop at school.
"I feel like some of that energy perhaps rubbed off on me growing up, but my background wasn't really something I thought about much during my school years.
"We had emerged into a space where multiculturalism was starting to be celebrated and highlighted and viewed as something that makes Australian culture wonderful."
Vescio's maternal grandfather migrated from China via Hong Kong after the Second World War, and had a hard start to life in Australia.
"He was never afforded the luxury of playing sport, so at least early on, he probably saw me playing footy as a bit of an indulgence that could ultimately end up being a waste of time and energy," they said.
"I think that's a very common migrant attitude toward work and sport in this country.
"Goong, while always supportive of me, loved soccer and I think he saw that as a legitimate sporting choice, whereas footy was more of a hobby, which it was for a long time for me before the advent of the AFLW."
Vescio has grown to embrace their background, also becoming an AFL Multicultural Ambassador, and seeking to learn more about their heritage.
"I came from a headspace of 'I'm just like everyone else really … I'm not that Chinese, I'm not that Italian'," Vescio said.
"So, it's been really rewarding to learn more about my family and to be able to express how proud and grateful I am.
"I hope my journey resonates with people who don't necessarily see themselves reflected in the game that often. I love my Chinese-Italian heritage. I always have, even if it's been something that I didn't really reflect on until later in life.
"I'm really proud and happy that I do have a 'different' background and it's something that I get to share as an AFLW footballer."
