But don’t boo, jeer or taunt players because of who they are or what they stand for. The Palmer United Party leader told ABC TV that when Goodes wore the Swans’ jersey it was natural for fans from another club to boo him. People lined up to condemn the Aboriginal “war dance” delivered in the direction of Carlton fans during this year’s Indigenous Round as aggressive or provocative.
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AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan admits there has been a campaign against Goodes and that it is hurting many people in the Indigenous community.
Warren told me that “We want you to tell Adam Goodes that he is welcome in Yuendumu and anywhere in central Australia anytime”. “I don’t know that we’ve ever had the issue that we have with Adam now about him being booed for 15 or 16 weeks”, he said.
What would happen to the person in the crowd who took a position of firing a mock musket at the advancing warrior?
The two-time Brownlow Medallist is understood to have travelled out of Sydney for a few days in the wake of his racism controversy and having been given indefinite time off after West Coast fans booed him during last Sunday’s game in Perth.
Goodes was named Australian of the Year in 2014, which some critics questioned given the 2013 incident.
“The issue of racism is so deep-seated, nothing short of confronting can change the tide of generations of prejudice – some disgraceful media commentary from people of some profile either seeking ratings or relevance; taking the contrary view for the sake of it even though the contrary argument is hopelessly outdated and flawed”.
So Adam gets booed and straight away, somehow, that has become a racist issue. “We would encourage every other fan to follow suit”.
“I’ve seen a lot of people come out and support Heidelberg for standing him down from the FFA Cup game”, he said.
“Enough is enough”, the statement on behalf of 18 clubs said.
The debate has divided the country, many Australians insisting that their dislike of Goodes is about the man not the colour of his skin. Some have pointed to his singling out of the young Collingwood fan, simulation for free kicks, and past on-field acts. Given the time that’s passed since his departure from the Crows there wasn’t much heat between Tippett and his former teammates, but there’s no doubt he would have enjoyed it, especially given the criticism he’s copped about his on-field output since joining the Swans.
Shepparton rapper Briggs has weighed in on the saga surrounding Sydney AFL star Adam Goodes.
“This is not something for which Adam should be vilified – it is something for which he should be celebrated”.
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Australia rarely talks publicly about the condition of its roughly 700,000 indigenous citizens, who track near the bottom of its 23 million citizens in nearly every economic and social indicator. They are the poorest ethnic group in Australia, suffer poor health and lag behind in education.
