COLLINGWOOD captain Scott Pendlebury has declared Magpies players are committed to helping create long-term change in the wake of a report which found systemic racism existed at the club.

The Magpies endured one of the most tumultuous off-seasons in their history as the leaked release of the Do Better report rocked the club.

Powerful long-serving president Eddie McGuire resigned after bungling the handling of the findings, while the Collingwood playing group issued a statement saying they were sorry for "anyone who felt marginalised, hurt or discriminated against due to their race".

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Pendlebury told AFL.com.au that the detail contained in the report that covered the Magpies' chequered history of race-related incidents was a "confronting" experience for all the players.

"Reading the report and seeing that across the 120-odd years that the club's been standing, it was confronting," he said. 

"In the steps in place since then, we've done a few education sessions around what it means and it's hard for a white privileged man to grasp that concept of where it comes from.

"Learning about it we've certainly understood more and more and we're really keen as a playing group to get involved in the 18 recommendations that have been put forward."

Speaking to reporters later at the AFL's annual Captains Day, Pendlebury denied the letter was simply a tokenistic response and insisted players were fully dedicated to ensuring a more inclusive culture at Collingwood.

The Magpies have appointed an anti-racism advisory group to assist them in developing the change from recommendations of the report.

"I think it sort of came across as just the AFL players but it was all the athletes (AFL, AFLW, netballers) involved in our club and they endorsed the letter that we wrote," Pendlebury said.

"We're really focused on the 18-step process that we've got to put in place.

"It wasn't just the letter for us and then we go 'we've done our bit'.

"Now it's about how can we help and what we need to do. We're really keen to be actively involved as much as we can."

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Pendlebury has chatted with interim co-presidents Mark Korda and Peter Murphy, but admitted McGuire's departure was hard to see.

"Eddie was a huge figure at the football club and he did so much for the place. He remains a black and white man so we'll miss Ed," he said.

As well as the independent investigation, which was sparked by claims from premiership player Heritier Lumumba, the Magpies experienced significant upheaval to their playing list.

Passionate Magpies fans were left fuming after star midfielder Adam Treloar, crafty forward Jaidyn Stephenson and wingman Tom Phillips were offloaded in a trade period fire sale.

"It played out so much publicly but internally, that period, we were all together behind the scenes training and catching up for lunch," Pendlebury said.

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"Those discussions about guys being traded gets put to bed pretty quickly once you're preparing for the season."

Collingwood faces a blockbuster clash with the Western Bulldogs - and Treloar - to open its season at the MCG on March 19.