The Dragons have apologised unreservedly for the racism towards Indigenous star Nathan Blacklock which he has revealed forced him away from the club.

Blacklock spoke of his painful split from the Dragons toย The Sydney Morning Heraldย on Sunday.

"I've kept this secret for all these years," Blacklock said.

"But the reason I lost my passion for the Dragons and left the club was because of racism. It came from the worst place possible โ€“ within our team environment.

"The vast majority of those I played with and was coached by were great โ€“ not a problem โ€“ but there was an element there that hurt me. I remember them talking about my good mateย Preston [Campbell]ย and he would say, 'Get that little black c---'.

"That was like a dagger to my heart. I kept that pain to myself.

"The person who had the [racist] streak knows who it is. I don't know if he knows it drove me away from the club, but I saw him at a function recently and he couldn't look at me."

Following the interview, St George Illawarra chief executive Ryan Webb issued a statement expressing the club's sadness at Blacklock's admission, while praising his bravery for speaking out.

"Racism has no place in society, in rugby league and certainly not at the St George Illawarra Dragons," Webb said.

"Everyone at the club were saddened to read over the weekend that racism played a contributing role in Nathan's departure from the club in the early-2000s, and commend his bravery in speaking out.

"We have come a long way as a club with addressing matters pertinent to not only players of Indigenous background but across all cultures."

Blacklock went on to explain why he didn't speak out when he first heard the racist abuse.

"I wanted to play first grade and didn't want the attention that speaking out then would have brought," he said.

"My dad always told me to just keep my head down and do my job, but I feel times have changed now. I work with people from all races and all areas in my job with suicide prevention. It's time to be true to myself and speak up in case anyone else is going through it.

"Those boys shouldn't worry about their positions in the team. And I hope race never, ever picks a team."

Blacklock played 142 NRL games with St George Illawarra, scoring 121 tries in a glittering career.