Walker has been suspended for six games, handed a $20,000 fine and has given a public apology for a racist comment he made about North Adelaide Indigenous player Robbie Young at a Crows SANFL game in July.

Sloane said, on the one hand, he and Walker are best mates and their families are close, but his comments have caused a lot of distress.

“Our whole footy club is hurting, because this has been pretty tough to deal with,” Sloane told reporters on Thursday.

“We have a lot of people to look after and that’s my role, that’s Nicksy’s role, that’s everyone’s role in the football club, to make sure everyone’s okay.

“Tex is a part of our footy club, so we have to make sure he’s okay too.

“Of course I’m good friends with Tex and I care about him, but I have a lot of good friends in our footy club as well that I also care about and that’s the balance at the moment, to make sure our Indigenous players are well looked after.”

Sloane said he had spoken to Walker after the incident.

“If you’re asking me personally, in an ideal situation, of course I’d love him here (at the club),” he said.

“But it’s not as simple as that and there’s a lot to play out. It’s a complicated issue, personally for him.

“Tex is incredibly remorseful and what he said, he’s owned it.”

Sloane said he is also having plenty of conversations with the club’s Indigenous players.

“They’ve been very honest … that’s all I can ask for,” he said.

“It’s very tough, for someone like myself to try to put myself in their position, to try to understand this at a deeper level.”

-with AAP