Australian Football is an amazing sport. It is Australia’s game and as unique as the indigenous Australians that have called the “Sunburnt Country” home for the last 40,000 years. It transcends age, sex and ethnicity.
Every year the Australian Football League (AFL) celebrates the contribution indigenous Australians have made to the game and the culture of Australian Football. Known as Indigenous Round, it is a special week for the sport and something that should be celebrated. I think the AFL has too many “special interest” rounds that put pressure on scheduling and other aspects of the administration of the game but Indigenous Round is a good one and is here to stay.
Last Friday night, arguably the best indigenous player to ever kick a footy, Sydney Swans champion Adam Goodes, wound back the clock and reminded us of just how good a player he is. Goodes is a humble man who is a proud Australian and proud Indigenous Australian. He is respected and loved by players and fans across the country but late in the game was called an “ape” by a Collingwood fan sitting near the boundary – a young girl aged only 13.
It is possible that, as the young girl later claimed, she didn’t mean this to be a racist comment but this is an expression that does carry racial overtones in the country of Australia. The girl was removed from the ground and the incident instantly became front page news. The situation could have turned into a circus if it wasn’t for the amazing manner in which Goodes handled the situation. He expressed his sadness at the incident but called for calm and more importantly for the situation be used to educate rather than turn into a witch-hunt. The community doesn’t need the sort of division a witch-hunt would have provided.
The girl apologized to Goodes, who asked that the incident act as a reminder to all Australians of any race or creed to continue to work on racially charged discrimination. The game of football owes Adam Goodes plenty; he has been an incredible ambassador for this wonderful sport for many years. His class as an individual, regardless of the color of his skin, shone through and turned an unsavory incident into a positive by highlighting the work that needs to be done to heal old wounds.