Uncomfortable as it might be, all sports fans should watch The Final Quarter

AussieBokkie - these things can't happen at an NRL game because there are so few people, so far apart that no one would hear what the others were saying!

Ali, your arrogancce is appallling. You think your smarter than everone. Your abusess and name calling is insatiable. Like all zeallots you do not actually care for people. You have no idea about sensitive intellligent dialogue. I suggest a Councellorr. Flame on Twitter not a sport enthusiast site.

Have a good week big guy :)

SM, really. Do you listen to Trump, Jones and Bolt. Do you not hear enough of their noise over the news to know what they are. You have just called me dumb and uncivilised for not listening to your pin up boys. You are acting like a Zealot. I am very comfortable with my intelligence and reasoning skills. Not so with yours. If you think it is your role to call people names on this site, you should explore your prejudges and relationship with people. You remind of the life of Brian skit about the people’s republic of Judea. Buy a mirror.

Did I call you a blind nutter? I think I complemented you on your consistency. But - it's just dumb and uncivilised to provide opinion/commentary on someone while fully acknowledging you don't read or listen to a word they say.

Don’t take it personally but I don’t feel the need to prove myself to you. And I like to think I think for myself. Maybe I am a blind nutter but it is my own corner.

I don’t normally get involved in these discussions but I really felt for Goodes at the time and now. I don’t know how to change somebodies prejudices, and we all have some. But calling them Racist can’t be the way.

Treble, do you even read prior entries. I am pro Goodes and anti booing. Those two are not arguing. They sanctimoniously preach. And you should have a good look at yourself. Your prejudgment seems to be of the same order as the racist booing anti fans. If only people would really think for themselves and not barrack for something.

Not supporting them. Agree with you in some part of that. Just wanting to see whether you are consistent or just some blind nutter who attacks the left with a form of rank hypocrisy. Because Jones and Bolt also send out self publicity and dress it up as news. Clearly, consistent in thought. Good.

Stop trying to put people in a box. It is annoying. Bolt and Jones are tw.ats as well. The other two I must have seen five years ago. Ocassionally I am in the room when they are on TV. I clearly told you that they send out self publicity and dress it up as news. The thing is you shouldn’t use these two people as any way to support any argument. And their take” on somebody... Why are you so supportive of them?

Despite that statistically being proven wrong.

But yet....you still didn't answer the question. You've never read or watched anything they do. How do you know they are self-righteous, preaching prigs? I presume you would have similar opinions of Andrew Bolt and Alan Jones then? Two individuals that have a significantly larger media footprint than Pickering and Waleed? (Jones is on print, radio and TV).

Can you explain it again

#Insider ON this topic you appear to be a misinformed outsider. There are 2 very separate incidents you are confusing. The first was a Sydney v Collingwood match, May 2013, first game of Indigenous Round - and perhaps for that reason Goodes may have had heightened sensitivity? He was near the boundary and clearly heard him being called an 'ape' and he pointed security towards the culprit - not at all aware of the age of that person. He had no idea what security would do and that's not his fault/responsibility. She later apologized, he accepted and as said earlier - he stressed repeatedly that he didn't hold it against her. He tweeted "Just received a phone call from a young girl apologizing for her actions. Lets support her " and amongst other comments he stated "It's not her fault, she's 13, she's still so innocent, I don't put any blame on her," The other incident was some 2 years later Sydney vs Carlton - again on Indigenous round - and was a 'goal celebration' which was at greatest fault - seemingly directed towards the goal he scored at behind which sat the Carlton cheer-squad. Many took offence and saw it as an aggressive action. For me - his action that day was a 'nod' to the Flying Boomerangs junior indigenous squad who had developed their 'war dance' to perform prior to matches against opposition from PNG and the South Pacific - most of whom have their national/tribal dances. So most the angst there was based on a fair level of ignorance. At least this year when Richmond's Sydney Stack joined the pre game war dance (indigenous round earlier this year) that it was celebrated. Also re you comment "don’t need to be told my country, community is something it’s not" You do realise that Australia is actually a fairly diverse nation and is made up of many different and distinct communities. It takes a fair bit of effort to broadcast the various stories across the country. And sadly on this story you seem to have made up your mind (on the wrong information) and closed the door to it. I'm sure that's not the national community you envisage.......

#Trebla That was simply my observation on that day - Goodes wasn't booed from the outset. I'm not sure whether any North fans headed to the game intending to boo Goodes. I know from experience there are a lot of moron North fans - I left a FB group this year because I was fed up with some people. And I'm not saying that the reaction isn't racist - I am saying exactly that the way that booing is conducted - that it is racist. What I do suspect is that there are certain conversations that have been so one sided in the Australian community that they may as well have not been had - and as a result there's a lot of tacit racism just near the surface that many people don't comprehend. The talk in some quarters now about for example climbing Uluru - and that pretty well every TV media discussion is devoid of indigenous representation. How can we debate/discuss issues and ideas with only one side represented?? So - there's a lot of naive racism in Australia - and the Goodes booing was I believe a representation of that. Certainly too - there were a lot of people who justified themselves after the event (for booing) based on things like the Goodes Aust Day speech (but they quoted comments that were only made in a subsequent interview, not the speech, and quoted them out of context). What was unfortunate for the AFL - and they weren't geared to handle it - was that Goodes was still playing when made Australian of the Year. And while his position was based on a cultural platform - unfortunately that was wrongly regarded more as a political grandstanding by some (from what I read). I'm sure the AFL hoped it would all just go away but it wasn't a normal situation. And that's why comments such as "#insider claiming 'actions not....heritage' aren't quite right.

Not asking you to feel guilty. That's up to you. But at the least it was systemic bullying, and at it's worst it was racist. You can learn from history or you can ignore it. And all of us will get on with life and move on, even Goodesy, who has done so. And identity politics is just a contrived label thrown around at people who try to make the world better. We are all tribal. And yes it will still be going on in 100 years. But I prefer to learn from the past and to try to change the future, make it better. And part of that is recognising and calling out racism. And maybe donating to the GO foundation as that may help to rectify some of the wrongs.

Here’s a comment I posted earlier… As a disclaimer, my son, who is a dark kid, and I, an old white male, set up the “Adam Goodes Stand” sign at the SCG. The Goodes booing occurred from mid 2013 onwards. It became normalised after Eddie’s comments in mid 2013, even though Goodes missed the last few months of 2013. |Originally I think that it was partly a joke, but then it became as much about bullying as about racism. It was obvious that it affected both Adam and the Swans so it continued. It became more racist throughout 2014 after Goodes was named Australian of the Year. His speech in January 2014 was that of a proud Indigenous man upholding his culture. But it became part of the newly reinstated culture wars, and was politicised by the Murdoch press opinion writers. Goodes was an ambassador for the Australian Human Rights Commission, and was roundly supported by Gillian Triggs, amongst others. I also remember the outcries from the alt_Right websites, and the racist memes that followed. The worst example I saw was at a pub in Balmain during the 2014 GF. My family and I could not get tickets to travel to Melbourne. The Hawks destroyed us. Yet there were several Hawks supporters who constantly booed Goodes in that game in the pub, one calling him a “vicious dog”. When I asked him “why”. his answer was that he was a dirty backsniper who played for frees and slid in knees first. What codswallop! Throughout 2014 and 2015 Goodes was subjected to the worst racism against an individual that I have ever seen. It was systemic bullying, with only the Swans coming out in support of Adam. The AFL was complicitly silent, as was the Melbourne media. And not once was Adam Goodes cited or suspended. Why did this happen? Partly because of the times – the free speech warriors and the “It’s ok to be a bigot” idiocy. Partly because of the rise of the alt-Right and its influence on social media. Partly because of the weakness of the AFL hierarchy in not calling it out. Much because of the blatant bigotry of News Ltd, Sky and its followers. Watch the documentary. There is no commentary at all, just archival footage of what happened. Sam Newman is a coward with a platform, as are Andrew Bolt and Miranda Devine. Eddie is just a casually racist idiot who does some good things but blots his life with a moronic need to be liked. Mark Robinson and Gerard Whateley got it, as did Caroline Wilson. Gill McLachlan is the worst AFL CEO in living memory, as can be seen from the current behaviour scandal. Here was a proud man speaking out for his people and we Australians didn’t like the truth that he was telling us, or to be reminded of our past treatment of Aborigines. I can’t do anything about what happened in the past, but I can try to change the future and I can help Adam and the GO Foundation make a better life for our indigenous kids. And I can call out racism when I see it, which is often. And to change the future you have to understand the past.

When is the appropriate age to be held accountable for racist sledges at the footy I wonder? Please educate us all. 14? 15? 16? The right to do here would have been for the mother, or father, of the girl to take that girl and voluntarily leave the stadium. I would have. Security or no security, I’d be so embarrassed that I’m not sitting there amongst the crowd after my child has said such a disgusting thing. I’d be heading straight to the exit with my son or daughter ... down to the house of mirrors to ask myself a few questions about how I could have raised a child who thinks it’s OK to hurl that sort of abuse at a player.

She was 13, I’m sure Adam copped it off the field as well, But it’s easy when it’s a child, oh what a hero

Yeah… and for the crime of pointing the finger at that supporter who called him an ape what should happen… do you think a proportionate response is to boo him for the next 17 weeks?… Mate i’m sure you walk around in life and behave perfectly…but perhaps cut someone like Goodes some slack. He was being abused and called it out .. so what. The belligerent and childish reaction by the football public and sections of the media was mean spirited and embarrassing, as is the apologetics around this issue promoted by people like you.