Adam's got the Goodes to help Australia

Yeah, I'm a Swans supporter, and I have been a Swans supporter ever since they started here in Sydney. My opinion of Mr Goodes is that he is far too controversial and he uses his fame in the AFL for the wrong reasons. And as you can see by my 'Avatar' that I'm a die hard South Sydney supporter also and we have allot of indigenous players that are our 'Brothers' and all us fans are very proud of them and all of us be it white, black, pink or blue, they are all apart of us, with no discrimination. It's been like this at South Sydney and the NRL always, never ever was there any controversies or bickering towards any players of different nationalities or race. In the NRL, where there are lots of indigenous players and we have had the Indigenous All Stars playing the NRL All Stars and that was a very successful game, and everyone commended the indigenous players of how good they were in beating the NRL all Stars and it was a very successful round of bringing everyone together and not dividing us. We didn't have a 'war dance' done by any of the indigenous players and we most certainly didn't have our biggest stars of the game (who are all indigenous) going off on their own tangents and bringing their indigenous politics and indifferences into the game or their politics into the NRL. Whilst, this is what I object from Mr Goodes, that he uses the AFL for his own political and his selfish indigenous agendas.

If that were the case for everyone Dingo there would not have been a fairly sudden massive increase in booing of him. He's been playing for 15 years or more. I noticed early on some traits I didn't like and used to boo him but hardly anyone else seemed to. There was a period several years ago where he was taken out of the midfield and had lost form. Any dirtiness rose to the fore then. This must have been around 2010 or so, maybe a bit before. I was saying, "see??? see???". And yet, there was not widespread booing then either. The widespread, whole crowd boos, every time he gets the ball, that's something that has happened since the racism. Read the discussions on this and they are replete with references to the girl and his aoty honour. That's where it lies. It may not be "he's black, so i'll boo". But it's related to his contributions to the race relations debate.

Are you a Swans supporter? It would just be interesting to hear the perspective of people, if Adam Goodes was on their team, and if they would still feel the same? I ask, because I'm not a Swans supporter, but I'm pretty sure the people that have been very outspoken about Adam Goodes, would be quite supportive of him, if he was a member of their team. For example, do you think Eddie McGuire would have said the same things if Travis Varcoe was the one who did the war dance? Or if Lumumba did something supposedly controversial, when he was playing for Collingwood?

WE want Mr Goodes to play AFL which is the only thing that he can do well. He should leave politics and his indigenous heritage for another venue and for another time. That is all I'm sure that every fan and follower of the AFL and every other sport wants from their champion players, be they white, black or any other colour..

We need to get Ipsos to do a survey on why Adam Goodes gets booed at the football and the reaction to his war dance. My guess would be: 1. Because he used to dive into the legs of other people – 10% 2. Because he seeks free kicks from the umpire – 10% 3. Because he's a very good player – 10% 4. Because he's Aboriginal – 10% 5. Because he pricks our national conscience about the treatment of Aboriginal people – 10% 6. Because he was Australian of the Year – 10% 7. Because he outed a 13-year-old girl for racial abuse in 2013 – 10% 8. Because everyone else is booing, and I'm just joining in – 10% 9. Because I'm a d***head – 10% 10. I really don't know – 10% There you go. These are all pretty silly reasons, but covers them all. We're behaving like it's the 10 seconds that shook the earth, all spurred on by our good friends in the media. Even The Roar has had 10 articles on it! Why? It's not because Adam Goodes is a polarising person – I've met him twice, once at the SCG, and once outside Eora in Chippendale. Extremely likeable, a considered person, a bit shy, but a fantastic person, and a good role model, not just to Indigenous people, but non-Indigenous too. It's odd that a lot of people on these posts (behind the courage of their keyboards) are saying Goodes is a tool, or a horrible person, even though they don't know him or ever met him. What would appease these people? If he goes to middle of ground at the beginning of each match with a microphone and apologise for his alleged offences? Or if he's placed in stocks outside the ground, so people can throw rotten fruit at him and boo him in his face? Some articles on The Roar have suggested that Goodes resign from the game, or keep quiet. I haven't heard any current AFL players condemn Goodes, or anyone from the Aboriginal community. Much ado about nothing really, time to move on. I guess that real downside is that the crowd now wants to destroy Adam Goodes, and we'll see more stupid reactions from the crowd for the rest of the season.

I disagree... I boo Adam Goodes for the same reason I boo Hayden Ballantyne, Dale Thomas, Lindsay Thomas, Brian Lake, Steve Johnson, Joel Selwood.... The same reason I use to boo Libba, Barry Hall, Cam Mooney and many many more...... I don't like the way he plays his footy. Simple! The way he plays for free kicks, the way he continually whinging to umpires about extra attention.

An honest and accurate post.

A well written piece Martin and congratulations on highlighting the issues Adam has been standing up for ever since his booing has become institutionalised. I'm sure your Y9 teacher would be proud. One thing which I find ironic about this week's slagging of Adam which has received little or no acknowledgment, is that it's the 20th anniversary of the incident where Michael Long was on the receiving end Damian Monkhorst's racial abuse. Which brought about the AFL's Anti Racial & Religious Villification policy. This policy brought clarity and respect onto the field and has achieved fantastic results. 20 years later, it might be worth contemplating whether the behaviour of people on the other side of the fence needs some equally deep and redefining scrutiny. Perhaps not by the AFL but by themselves. One of the most used justifications for "Why I'm not a racist" is that they don't boo Rioli, or Josh Gibson or any other black player. Pointing out someone's skin colour is old-school racism - it died out when others could actually see you were a racist. What we have these days may not even be racism, but it definitely is intolerance. Denigrating a person for being proud of his culture - and Showing it - is just one way 21st century racial intolerance manifests. Even Monkhorst, when explaining his actions (he never tried to justify them, as he realised he was wrong almost immediately and Owned His Own Mistake) said he didn't realise that he was being so extremely offensive. The so-called "accidental racist". I'm pretty sure that 99% of people that boo Adam for his on-field stand against racial abuse from the crowd or for accepting the AOTY award aren't old school racists, and I'd like to think that 99% of those aren't 'new age' ones either. But by the reams of irrational excuses I've read about the booing, it sure looks like 99% of them carry the gene. While that's the case, the concept of Closing the Gap for indigenous people is still a long way off.

I used to boo him. A mixture of a bit of tall poppy, not enjoying the extra time (it appeared to one eyed me) he got to dispose of the ball, and a little bit of dirtiness I perceived in his game that no-one else - least of all pundits - seemed to see. I was in a vast, vast, vast minority. The constant suggestion that it has nothing to do with the calling out of racist abuse and his support for anti-racism campaigns and pride in his heritage, and that everyone, since this came to the fore, has actually been booing him because he's a dirty player or whatever, is simply untrue.

Just don't get it do ya? He did nothing wrong. He is a hero to speak out amongst the hatred and villification of idiots, and yes they are racist. I've been a Swans member since 1996, attended games in Melbourne regularly, and it is a Melbourne thing, not a Sydney thing nor a WA/ SA/ Qld thing. And whilst he was booed like any other opponent pre the Collingwood incident, it has become de rigeur amongst the Victorian bogan set to call him a "dog", an "ape" and to cowardly boo him every game since he won AOTY and since he has spoken out about the obvious Aussie racism against aborigines. And it is 10 times worse then it was before! Eddie doesn't get it, most Melburnians don't get it, and you don't get it. He is a proud brave man, and a hero who speaks out. And a damn fine footballer as well! Bravo Adam Goodes!

Can you post a link to all the footage please Gene? Would love to see it.

Well said Martin

"The booing of Goodes commenced after he pointed the finger two years ago and took his stand." If you're going to write an article that pretends to be factual I suggest you start by getting the facts straight. Goodes was often heavily booed by opposition crowds YEARS before that incident ever took place. There is an ocean of footage out there to prove it. Unfortunately this contravenes your argument so you've either chosen to ignore or suppress it.