Essendon defender Courtenay Dempsey had contacted Victorian Police and could press charges against a social media user who he alleges racially abused him with a homophobic and suicide-related comment.

Essendon released a statement on Monday confirming the incident that allegedly took place shortly after the conclusion of Saturday night's Essendon-Richmond AFL match at the MCG.

During the game, Dempsey laid a "sling" tackle on Tigers star Brett Deledio – an incident that has been referred straight to the tribunal after the match review panel deemed his conduct to be "careless" and the impact to the head "severe".

The Bombers said the alleged offender had apologised to Dempsey and has since removed the comment from the player's Instagram account.

However Dempsey said he and his family were "deeply upset" and wanted to bring the alleged abuse to the public's attention in an effort to "stamp out racism".

"People need to understand players are human and we have feelings," the 28-year-old said.

"This shouldn't be happening in this day and age. People need to take responsibility for their actions," he said.

"It's all very well to hide behind social media, but the pain of a comment like that lasts long after it has been deleted.

"I felt I needed to take a stand. It's important for people to understand that their actions have consequences.

"As players we can accept feedback after we've had a poor game, it comes with the territory. But we shouldn't, and won't, tolerate abuse that attacks our race, sexuality or mental health."

"The Long Walk" chairperson, Leanne Brooke, said she was "disheartened" to read the comments directed at Dempsey - who has been a strong advocate for the Indigenous charity.

She said she was particularly disappointed to learn that the comment allegedly referred to suicide – labelling it "callous" and quoting a statistic that "suicide rates for Aboriginal men are 40% higher than that of non Aboriginal males".

Bombers chief executive Xavier Campbell said the club would support Dempsey in any stand he wanted to take, including the possibility of police action.

"People need to understand cyber bullying is a crime in Victoria and when you decide to post offensive comments on social media you will be held to account," Campbell said.

"We understand Victoria Police has contacted Courtenay and the club will fully support him if he chooses to take this matter further."