Right: The historic photo of Nicky Winmar as he proudly and defiantly faces the crowd points to the colour of his skin.
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Arguments supporting the claim that Australian football crowds are racist
1. AFL crowds harass players of different races
Critics note that there has been a long history of racial vilification within the AFL, with racial abuse having been directed at players both by the crowd and by other players.
Keith Parry, lecturer in Sport Management at the University of Western Sydney, has stated, 'I would argue that racist behaviour and assumptions are woven into the fabric of Australian football...'
Parry observed, 'In 2013, a 13-year old girl, unaware that "ape" was a racist slur, abused Goodes during a match against Collingwood.' Another notable incident occurred in 1993 which Parry also describes. 'The St Kilda player Nicky Winmar responded to racism from the stands by raising his shirt and pointing at his chest. Allegedly, the crowd had been "reminding" Winmar that, as an Indigenous footballer, "he was one of them rather than one of us".'
On September 29, 2014, The Sydney Morning Herald published an opinion piece by Erin Riley commenting on racism, sexism and homophobia among AFL crowds. She wrote in particular of the experience she and others she knows had had at the 2014 AFL grand final.
Riley wrote, 'Friends at other points in the ground heard Goodes called a "black dog". Others were heard saying, "That girl was right about you", referring to the incident last year when Goodes pointed to the crowd after he was called an ape. Another chimed in, "I can definitely see the resemblance."'
Majak Daw, a North Melbourne player who came to Australia from the Sudan in 2003 has also been a particular recipient of racist abuse. In February 2014 Daw was racially abused by a Hawthorn supporter. The man allegedly called out, 'Go back to South Africa you black dog.' This was the third time Daw had been abused at an AFL ground, having been previously abused during matches in 2013 against Hawthorn at the MCG and against the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium. In 2011 Daw, one of the AFL's multicultural ambassadors, was racially abused at a VFL match in Port Melbourne.
There are many who have also construed the persistent booing of Adam Goodes as evidence of racism. The claims that crowds simply do not like aspects of Goodes's game have been rejected as a smoke screen concealing essentially racist attitudes.
2. The more overtly a player asserts his racial origin, the more likely he is to be abused
Many of those who argue that Adam Goodes is being racially abused claim that he attracts this negative attention because of his forthright defence of his racial identity. It is claimed that many football supporters have difficulty accepting those who proudly proclaim their racial difference.
In an opinion piece published in The Herald Sun on July 30, 2015, Warwick Green stated, 'My belief is that the origins of the hostility towards Goodes can be found in the fact that he is a forthright, candid and proud Aboriginal man, who has been prepared to challenge attitudes on indigenous issues.
Goodes has chosen to use his profile to challenge our thinking, and for many that strong advocacy was a reason to feel uncomfortable and to rail against him.'
A similar claim has been made by Professor David Rowe of the University of Western Sydney's Institute for Culture and Society. Rowe has stated, 'It shows to me a real lack of sympathy or empathy. It shows real anger towards Goodes because he won't just take it. He won't be a nice quiet Aboriginal boy who's grateful to be a footballer.'
In an attempt to explain why Goodes has been consistently booed for over twelve months, Rowe dismissed a number of possibilities and then suggested the reason was Goodes's advocacy of Indigenous rights. Rowe states of Goodes 'Did he hospitalise someone? Was there some terrible transgression? No. The only thing I can find to have "deserved" this is that he's a prominent Aboriginal player who has stood up for Aboriginal rights, was elevated to Australian of the Year, has not been prepared to cop racism - and this is his payback.'
Nigel Scullion, a Northern Territory senator and the Abbott government's Minister for Indigenous Affair has made a similar point. 'Those elements of the crowd that are heckling him, he takes it up to them. They don't like someone taking it up to them. Bullies don't. They don't like someone talking a stand.'
On May 31, 2015, on the ABC's Insiders program, social commentator Waleed Aly suggested that it is because Adam Goodes is not compliant about racist issues that crowds react adversely to him. Waleed Aly stated, 'Australia is generally a very tolerant society until its minorities demonstrate that they don't know their place. And at that moment, the minute someone in a minority position acts as though they're not a mere supplicant, then we lose our minds. And we say, "No, no, you've got to get back in your box here".'
3. The justifications offered for booing Adam Goodes are not sustainable.
Those who claim the booing of Adam Goodes is racially motivated maintain that the supposed reasons used to explain it are not sustainable and that it began and remains a racist act.
Among the justifications offered for booing Adam Goodes is that he stages for free kicks. In an article published on July 28, 2015, Mark O'Sullivan of Business Insider argued, 'The problem is that Goodes rarely stages for free kicks - no more than Joel Selwood of Geelong, for example, who is rarely booed.'
Herald Sun football writer Jon Ralph has analysed the statistics which do not support claims that Goodes performs for free kicks. Ralph noted, 'This year Adam Goodes - serious ducker, serial free-kick milker, seriously annoying player to many rival fans - has won a grand total of 11 free kicks. For the entire year.
That figure from Champion Data puts him 168th on the list of AFL players. Behind a long list of stars including Joel Selwood (44), Anthony Miles (41), Trent Cotchin (39), Marc Murphy (39), Allen Christensen (37) and Todd Goldstein (33).'
Accusations have also been made that Adam Goodes is a dirty player. The Australian's sports commentator Patrick Smith has dismissed this claim by noting '[Goodes] has won two Brownlow Medals for fairest and best player in the AFL and missed just two games through suspension in a 353-game, 17-year career at the Swans.'
Mark O'Sullivan and many others have maintained that it was Goodes's opposition to pre-existing racism in the AFL and elsewhere that earned him the animosity of the crowd. O'Sullivan claims, 'I remember the game where it turned for Goodes. It was the time when a 13-year-old Collingwood supporter screamed that Goodes was an "ape". Goodes, unlike most Indigenous footballers who would have heard such insults hurled from the sidelines, decided that such behaviour was unacceptable. Ever since that moment, however, the boos started.'
O'Sullivan went on to explain the development of the phenomenon, 'I remember that to start with, the loudness and persistence with booing wasn't consistent across the league. I distinctly remember an Essendon game, a later Collingwood game and, of course, the 2014 Grand Final with Hawthorn. They weren't around before the "ape" moment, but suddenly, there they were. And this year [2015], it's grown and is more persistent than ever.'
4. There are no effective procedures in place to regulate crowd behaviour
Those who believe that the behaviour of AFL crowds is racist claim this conduct has continued because the League's administration has taken no effective action against it.
It has been noted that the League has a code of behaviour designed to discourage players and club officials from racial abuse and other forms of vilification. There is nothing similar in place to attempt to regulate the racist conduct of some supporters.
Some critics have condemned AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan for having taken too long to speak out against the abuse directed at Adam Goodes and for behaving as though crowd conduct were outside the control of the ALF.
On July 31, 2015, McLachlan was reported as having said, 'I can't tell the supporters how to behave. Our game has always been an outlet for people to express themselves...
This is a game ultimately owned by our supporters and ultimately we need their leadership on this issue.'
McLachlan's comments have been condemned as a passive and ineffective response which allows racist remarks and behaviour to continue among spectators at AFL games.
On July 27, 2015, The New Matilda published an opinion piece by Chris Graham in which he argues that the AFL could take action to control crowd behaviour.
Graham states, 'It...happens to be the most extraordinary thing about this story - that it's been allowed to go on for so long without some sort of intervention by the AFL and other players.'
Graham proposes 'You might not be able to stop a crowd from booing a player for purely racist reasons, but you can stop a game. And that's exactly what should occur.
It's the very least the AFL can do, having sat and done nothing for a year. And if it doesn't take action, then the players should.
Both teams should simply walk off the field until it stops.'
The operators of some of the stadiums where AFL football is played have demonstrated that it is possible to take action against spectators making racist remarks.
On July 26, 2015, two fans were ejected from Domain Stadium for alleged racial abuse during a West Coast-Sydney Swans game. Perth Stadium Management, the operators of Domain Stadium, indicated that these supporters were removed from the venue after fans near them had reported racial abuse.
The stadium has a text messaging system for fans to report anti-social or discriminatory crowd behaviour during matches and two incidents were reported. Perth Stadium Management general manager, Gavin Taylor, said security staff had handled the situation appropriately.
Mr Taylor claimed, 'The alleged offenders yesterday were removed from the stadium in accordance with our match day policies and procedures. We are now discussing the next course of action with the West Coast Eagles and the AFL.'
5. The recipient of the abuse is best placed to determine its effect
It has been claimed that the person who is having the potentially racist treatment directed at him or her should have a major role in the determination of what is racist. In practice this means that a person has a right to complain and possibly take legal action if he or she is offended by racially-based comments.
There are specific laws to combat public displays of racially-based hatred in Australia. These are usually called anti-racial-vilification laws. The laws against racial vilification require that the offending words, images or actions have the potential to incite serious harm to an individual.
Judgments regarding what is serious involve both the victim's perceptions and considerations of what is generally unacceptable to society. For example, one person's idea of what is funny is often not shared by the victim of a racially-based joke. The laws are meant to protect victims from harm, including comments and actions which perpetrators may claim were unintended or inconsequential.
The persistent booing of Adam Goodes has been perceived as seriously racist by Goodes and by many others, including, ultimately, by the administration of the AFL.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has stated, 'Adam is hurting, he feels it's racist, many, many people feel this is racist and therefore why would you do it, knowing that.'
McLachlan has further stated, 'I don't think anyone, if they are feeling hurt and feeling they are the victim of racist behaviour...should feel like that...'
Referring to the attitude of spectators who believe that the booing of Adam Goodes is justified, McLachlan stated, 'And there is a point where you go "regardless of how we got here, I respect that's how you're feeling ... and I'll let you play".'
A stronger view has been expressed by Sydney Swans chairman Andrew Pridham. Pridham has stated, 'Let's call it for what it is. It's racism. To stand up to it we need to correctly define it. If people think they can sit there and say it's something else then I'm telling you that's not how Adam takes it and it's not how I take it.'