The recent booing of Adam Goodes has created a roar amongst us, in particular, within the Indigenous community and footy fans.
However, I will detract from discussing the argy bargy of words surrounding the root of the roar – racism.
For example, Shane Warne tweeted, “This whole Adam Goodes drama is ridiculous. The public can boo or chant whoever’s name they want! It’s nothing to do with being racist…”
In a similar way, Jason Akermanis argues that Goodes should “stop playing the victim” and stop “looking like a sook”.
Nevertheless, I would like to attract attention to how Goodes is handling the situation. Sorry Goodesy, but I think you should follow a different game plan. You should don the red and the white as soon as possible (next week against the Cats for multicultural round) and at all costs, avoid an early retirement.
Remember the old nursery rhyme, sticks and stones will break my bones but words will break my heart?
This rings true to Goodes at the moment, however, one can turn over this saying because pressure can make diamonds or coal dust.
In this case, Goodes finds himself engulfed with social pressure.
He possesses a plethora of awards, including the Brownlow Medal (2003, 2006), All Australian (2003, 2006, 2009, 2011) and Best and Fairest (2003, 2006, 2011) just to name a few. Being a prominent figure in the football world, he should take this bad situation and turn it into a good one – illustrating that bullies never win.
He should not be sidelined, giving those who had booed him satisfaction. Rather, he should condemn those people by exemplifying more resilience and strength, running through the banner next week.
Goodes has the support of fellow Indigenous players such as Lindsay Thomas, who pointed to a tattoo of the Aboriginal flag under his jersey, after having scored a goal against the Blues. Furthermore, Lewis Jetta celebrated the opening goal of Sydney’s game with an Indigenous dance.
At the SCG during the third quarter, the crowd also showed their support through a standing ovation and banners such as, “In Goodes We Trust,” and the opening banner – “RESPECT”.
AFL is at a potent time of its life.
After the tragedy of Phil Walsh, this difficult time for Goodes’ represents an opportunity to further unite us all. The cumulative events of Goodes should not bring us to our knees, but rather it should bring us to our feet, to stand up tall and strong.
Shake down the thunder from the sky Goodes!
Reunite, AFL, community, reconciliation, respect, recognise.
#standwithadam
a
Guest
Good Story we should not judge anyone
Winston
Guest
Better as in when measured by performance now and not the past. And that's especially based on the role he has been playing in the team this year. He's been their crummer standing in front of Tippett, and hasn't been very effective. I much prefer having Heeney, Cunningham or McGlynn in that role. On the weekend Heeney and McGlynn got plenty of the ball and did some very creative things with the ball in that role. So yeah, right now, for that position on the ground, all those 3 players are "better" than Goodes. And he can no longer presently play any other role. He used to play all roles of the ground, but not now.
Coops
Guest
Good article by the way Alexa. Winston I haven't watched the Swans much this year being stranded in Canberra and not wanting to pay for Fox, but I disagree with the assertion that Goodes is no longer good enough for the Swans 22. He has played well in the games I have watched, and I suspect that if you asked any of the Swans including the reserves if they felt that Goodes should be dropped/retire you would get a resounding and emphatic NO. Adam Goodes deserves to go out on his own terms and as Alexa argues above he should stand tall against the bullies and know that not just his team mates, his club and Swans supporters are standing with him but the majority of Australians are standing with him. You never know he might just come back form this and give it everything he's got, just as his team-mates did for him on the weekend. #standwithadam
Stewart
Guest
Better? Just because a younger player might get the ball more often than Goodes at this point in his career, you don't use the word 'better' to describe him. Was that just a bad choice of words or do you just dislike Goodes? I reckon that in my current team I would be more valuable than Bob Skilton at this point in time, but that would never make me 'better'. And FYI, I just chose Bob because he is suitably aged to the point where I'd get more of the ball than he would.
Winston
Guest
I have to completely disagree. I don't think he should come back because he's not in the Swans' best 22. The team played much better on the wekeend and I think it is no coincidence that he wasn't there. I think everything that has happened recently has given him a perfect reason to exit the game. Since he is so passionate about Aboriginal rights and awareness, I urge him to step down from AFL and concentrate on that. In fact I think most people wouldn't have a problem with him doing that when it's off field. You mentioned the list of fantastic accolades he's got - that would only give him more credibility and therefore more effective in his pursuit. Time to hang up the boots and leave the game to younger and better players.