VICTORIA Police have approached Essendon player Courtenay Dempsey after he was the target of alleged racial abuse online.

The 28-year-old indigenous player received the abusive comment on Instagram following his heavy tackle on Richmond's Brett Deledio in the final quarter of Saturday night's Dons-Tigers clash.

The comment has since been removed and Dempsey has received an apology from the person responsible.

Dempsey said he was hurt and disgusted at the comment that was posted on his social media account.

"My family and I are deeply upset," Dempsey said in a statement on Monday night.

"People need to understand players are human and we have feelings. There is no place for racism in our society and in our game.

"This shouldn’t be happening in this day and age."

Dempsey said any form of vilification could not be tolerated and it was his duty to speak up.

"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," he said.

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

Essendon chief executive Xavier Campbell said the club supported Dempsey's decision to confront the issue.

"As a club and an industry we have a long history of educating the community about acceptance and tolerance, so to read the offensive and hurtful material on Courtenay’s social media account is incredibly disappointing and frustrating," Campbell said.

"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.

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

Dempsey has been sent directly to the AFL Tribunal after the Match Review Panel graded his tackle on Deledio as "severe". The 185cm Bomber will front the Tribunal on Tuesday night.

Dempsey, whose contract expires at the end of the season, has played 119 games for the Bombers since making his debut in round seven, 2006.