The history of football has been littered with players and other AFL identities behaving badly off the field.
Wayne Carey, Ben Cousins, Brendan Fevola and Ricky Nixon are just some of the high profile football identities who have found themselves in varying degrees of hot water over the past decade or so.
Despite the media coverage and the outrage of the morally superior social media users, most people tend to just roll their eyes and mutter something along the lines of ‘bloody footballers’ and continue on with their daily business.
While football takes a hit, especially with non-followers, life goes on and the reputation of Australian society is barely touched.
We all know that for every Carey, Cousins and Fevola there are dozens and dozens of footballers who ply their trade each week and live their lives quietly and with dignity.
The real tragedy occurs when an Aboriginal footballer strays from the straight and narrow.
When Liam Jurrah, fresh from being found not guilty to serious assault charges in Alice Springs last week, found himself in custody over Easter due to new allegations, the under breath mutterings of many football fans and interested observers was not ‘bloody footballers’, but ‘bloody Aborigines.’
It may not have been said as explicitly as that (although in some cases I’m sure it was), but it was there in the undertone of many a conversation held about Jurrah since news of him being involved in this further incident surfaced last week.
As a way of explanation, one of my own mates told me that, “it is the way they live”.
“They” being Aboriginal people.
Wayne Carey acts up and footballers suffer a bad wrap. Liam Jurrah misbehaves and the whole Aboriginal community gets slandered.
Never mind that some of the greatest players and men to have played our game have been Aboriginal.
Sir Doug Nicholls, Michael Long, Adam Goodes, Gavin Wanganeen, David Wirrpanda and respected long serving umpire Glen James have all be associated with our game and are people of the highest order, but they, and many others, are conveniently forgotten and lumped into the category of ‘bloody Aborigines.’
To say the Aboriginal community is not without its problems would be a blind faced lie, but which group isn’t? To tar everybody with the same brush because of the behaviour of some is both ignorant and unfair.
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s I spent ten years working on Aboriginal communities in the far north of Western Australia.
I worked mainly as a school teacher, but was also involved with sporting organisations and the Aboriginal art industry.
It was not all rosy. Alcohol was a problem as was domestic violence, but despite what the local papers would have you believe, the problem was not just an Aboriginal one.
It was perhaps just more visible throughout the Aboriginal community. The ‘whitefellas’ were better at concealing their problems.
On one remote community in the Kimberley region I sat around a table having dinner with the handful of white staff who worked there.
I listened quietly while they lambasted and made fun of the local Aboriginal population, shaking my head in disbelief at the wide-ranging generalisations they were making.
They spoke of alcoholism and substance abuse while not so quietly getting smashed on wine themselves, and later one of the teachers produced a joint which was eagerly passed around. They told me that they were worried about me because I wasn’t partaking.
I quietly excused myself and left.
This hypocrisy was something I would experience over and over again.
In Halls Creek, a town with a shocking reputation, but one in which I never felt more accepted, I had a labourer proudly tell me that he drank half a slab each night before bed. He wasn’t an alcoholic mind you, not like those ‘blackfellas’ on the corner.
The corner was the intersection of the Great Northern Highway and Duncan Rd. The bottleshop there did a roaring trade and each afternoon 30 or so Aboriginal people would be sitting under the trees near the creek drinking – some just socially, some into oblivion.
It was all very public and because it was on the edge of the highway, it was the lasting impression that tourists passing through would have of, not just the town, but the Aboriginal population in general.
The remainder of the population (of approx 1500 people) who were home bringing up their kids or out working or trying to live their lives the best way they could, were conveniently forgotten.
The handful of people drinking by the creek were visible, but not indicative of the whole population. Just as many ‘whitefellas’ (if not more) were at home drinking and believe me, domestic violence was not unheard of within their ranks either.
It was just not as ‘public’.
Just as it would be ridiculous for me to say that, because of what I saw in Halls Creek, most white people were alcoholic, substance abusing, violent hypocrites, so it is for those shaking their heads over Liam Jurrah and thinking that it reflects on all Aboriginal people.
Think of it this way. Ben Cousins did drugs therefore all Western Australians must do drugs.
Of course they don’t. So let’s not allow any preconceived ideas about indigenous Australians to unfairly tarnish the entire Aboriginal community. Ignorance is no defence.
Bayman
Guest
Smokey, I agree entirely...
Martin
Guest
I feel sorry for young men these days, they are usually the victims of women who manipulate situations to their financial advantage. Nine times out of ten, what usually brings a man undone is a woman. Young guys need to be careful not to get trapped by any of the scheming and conniving behaviours of women, and need to be especially on guard for the white pointers.
Justin2
Guest
Fair pints Ntp but what would happen if they had the same rights? Geez that's sounds horrible reading that back to myself by the way :(
Brendon
Guest
Rendell didn't say it like that, you, like every other self obsessed person that jumped on him have taken it completely out of context. He was actually trying to bring a difficult issue to light, the PC police got hold of him, took half the story and a man lost his livelihood.
Smokey
Guest
That is not what he said at all. He said that in his view some recruiters were hesitant to recruit indigenous players without a white parent As far as I am aware he was not accused even by Mifsud of holding those views himelf. He was hung out to dry by the Crows. As far as I am concerne the real culprit was Mifsud who should not have been telling tales about private conversations (see the later Neeld ncident). It is him that should ave been sacked.
Bayman
Guest
I repeat, bilo, Rendell has been proven to be right. What he was saying was that full blood aboriginals have a different mind set, in regards to culture, than those of mixed background. He was saying that those players need to be handled differently because they have obligations put on them by family - and not just close family but the wider family - that can override any requirement the football club might have. Ergo, they are just as likely to disappear at inconvenient times as family takes precedent. He was saying that if the AFL and its constituent clubs do not take this into account then difficulties might arise down the track. He was saying that if clubs are not prepared for this potential then it might be better not to recruit these players in the first place. Melbourne did - and look where it got them. Jurrah, at last glance, is nowhere to be seen. Port Adelaide have distanced themselves from trying to help him. Perhaps you prefer to think Port are racist because they refuse to commit to someone who is, by AFL standards, a total flake. Perhaps Port are just silently acknowledging what Matt Rendell actually said and meant. Jurrah and his supporters cannot have it both ways. He either comes from a completely different culture or he does not. Recognising that he does is not racist - it's just a fact. You cannot ask football clubs, or their employees, to recognise the different culture and so make allowances for different behaviour but ignore it when it comes to deciding whether to recruit a player. Sometimes it's just not worth the effort. I've no doubt the Jurrah saga will make clubs look very closely at whether they recruit full blood aboriginals from the middle of Australia again. If they do, you can bet they will be much more careful about how they bring that player into the AFL culture. Australian Rules football, especially at the AFL level, is very professional. It is not a glorified child-minding centre. It asks a lot of its participants, far more now than in the days of Doug Nicholls, for example. A player must be committed one hundred percent. And if you know that's a problem at the start why even bother to go down that path. That's what Rendell was saying and Jurrah has proved him right. I'm sorry that like most politically correct people you could only read the words but not actually understand what Matt Rendell was saying. I'm sure you do probably feel good about yourself that you've taken the view that you have. The problem is, by ignoring the real issue you can't hope to change anything or to solve anything. Meanwhile Jurrah is living the dream, controlled by his family and his culture and doomed to be a non-entity. And it's all Matt Rendell's fault..............spare me!
Sean Lee
Expert
Wow, we have the Fonz making comments on The Roar! Yeah, that was the point of my article, to not forget the silent majority who are living their lives the best they can.
Arthur fonzarelli.
Guest
I work in a predominately aboriginal community in a service delivery occupstion. This community has a fearsome reputation. The saddest aspect is that 80% of the community are law abiding citizens , good parents , mostly with jobs . They get tarred with the same brush as a 20% minority who display violent and criminal behaviours . The 80% would love to see criminal justice system treat the 20% much more harshly for the ultimate benefit of the whole community . However some elite whites have decided that a softly softly approach works best , which is fine for them , they get to sleep with a clear conscience on the moral high ground , hundreds of kilometres away from neglected youth causing complete havoc in their communities , while police and educational systems have their hands tied .
NT Person
Guest
Good article that does not stereotype people. The picture that people like to paint is based on ignorance. Worked on remote Indigenous community in NT and seen non-Indigenous people allowed to drink wine, spirits in their own homes having a permit to access alcohol and the local Indigenous people could drink alcohol at the club 4 days a week for approximately 2 hours a session. The local Indigenous people did not have takeaway sales. So on an Indigenous community there was one law for one and another for the others, that discriminated against the local Indigenous people on their lands. There are still issues around alcohol and other drugs, but Indigenous people can and do function on the same basis with employment and carry out regular living, which people are not witness to as they mainly get exposure to Indigenous people and their issues either good or bad, through the media.
Sean Lee
Expert
Would love to see him back in the AFL Brendan. He has a highlights reel to die for. Bigger issues for him to deal with at this stage though.
Sean Lee
Expert
Yep, there are education programs in place, especially for the young players coming through the system.
Sean Lee
Expert
Spot on Redb. There are in fact many different Aboriginal nations throughout Australia. Incredibly diverse. Over 200 languages. People coming from desert, tropical, island, rural and urban environments. Still hard to find a good news story in the papers sometimes though!
Sean Lee
Expert
Hi Paul, You would be surprised by the beliefs of otherwise intelligent people. In my time helping out at an Aboriginal art centre I came into contact with all manner of tourists passing through - mainly intelligent people, but whose view of Aboriginal people was severely influenced by the mainstream media. Of course we all know that bad news sells more papers, so they had read mainly bad news stories regarding Aborigines. Their views were no so much racist as ill informed. They didn't hate or wish to discriminate, but a lot of them were even a little bit scared of the artists that were sitting around and painting. The art centre was hardly a threatening environment, I guess when you have been subjected to all the negatives, with very few positives to balance things out, that is the way you develop your opinions.
Sean Lee
Expert
Absolutely Strummer. I have no argument with anything you say here. I wasn't trying to sweep the bad stuff under the carpet, I was just trying to highlight how the whole community tends to take a hit when something untoward happens. A bit like how all muslims tend to be stereotyped as being extremists. I guess my point is that when someone like Ricky Nixon acts up it reflects badly on him as an individual, but when Jurrah or say an Andy Lovett acts outside the boundaries it reflects badly on the Indigenous community.
Sean Lee
Expert
True Chris, there are issues and sweeping them under the carpet is no way to deal with them.
Brendan
Guest
That might be true Redb .It amazes me that there seems to be a correlation between freakish forwards ala Ablett snr,Fevola, Carey and Jurrah and off-field trouble.Lets hope for all concerned that Jurrah gets back to senior football because what is undeniable is his talent.
Redb
Roar Guru
Brendan, UnfortuNately I seriously doubt any AFL club will touch Jurrah in the foreseeable future. The latest reports of trouble suggest he is spiralling out of control.
Brendan
Guest
Personally i haven't thought of Jurrah's behaviour as reflective of Aboriginals in general.Correct me if im wrong but he hasn't been found guilty of anything yet and at a recent court appearance was found not guilty which i was glad of not because of his aboriginality but i thought good he might get back in the Afl next season.I wish him all the best and hope to see him playing Afl soon.
bilo
Guest
"he simply suggested that full blood aborigines might need to be handled a bit differently in the AFL system" Total, complete and utter bollocks Bayman. Rendell actually advised that unless an Indigenous player had at least "one white parent" they should NOT be recruited. That is unbelievably racist and he deserved to be sacked for it. Rendell claimed his remarks were meant to "help" would-be Indigenous players. Thanks Matt, that sort of help is not needed.
Bayman
Guest
bilo, Rendell did not judge aborigines by the actions of Liam Jurrah - he simply suggested that full blood aborigines might need to be handled a bit differently in the AFL system. The actions of Liam Jurrah have simply proved him to be right. Comparing Jurrah with an Adam Goodes or a Michael O'Loughlin is like comparing apples and oranges. Rendell tried to highlight the distinction and got crucified for it. Political correctness doesn't solve any problems. If it did, perhaps now Liam Jurrah would not be getting so much bad press.