Right: columnist Andrew Bolt: the Adam Goodes "bullying" of a 13-year-old girl was the real issue and not the fact that the young fan had called the Aboriginal player an "ape".
Arguments against harsher penalties for racially abusive football fans
1. A tradition of robust barracking is part of the AFL Those who are sceptical about the value of harsh, cross-League penalties against fans who issue supposedly racist taunts argue that it is very difficult to determine what constitutes racism in the verbally robust context of a football game. Football barracking is often verbally abusive and this has a long tradition within AFL games. Comments that would not be made in most public settings are made readily at football games. On April 10, 2017, The Guardian published a comment by Craig Little in which he defended fans' parochial loyalties. Little stated, 'It is AFL football's rivalries that do the heavy lifting in providing the game its passion and its heritage, having at their origin a sense of place - that sense of belonging that keeps us turning up week after week, loss after loss.' On July 13, 2012, the Institute of Public Affairs published a comment by Richard Allsop in which he similarly stated, '[S]pirited barracking in public is a...[healthy] outlet for fans to express their views. A key element of football's appeal is the belief that one's own club is intrinsically better than its rivals. In a city like Melbourne, football culture has been driven by generations of love of one's own team and hatred of its rivals, and yet, at the same time, everyone has friends and relatives who support those other teams. We have all lived with the criticisms of our teams and our players.' In an opinion piece published in The Age on April 24, 2014, Will Brodie described some of the interaction at a Geelong-Hawthorn game. He stated, 'Unofficial, unsanctioned, yelling un-PC chants of their own devising, these two bays are a throwback to a coarse era of competitive barracking...There is passion...The fans yell and point, but they remain on their patch as if held back by a force-field. They are all talk.' AFL supporters and some commentators are concerned that the rowdy barracking at an AFL match, which for many is a large component of the game's appeal, is going to be construed as racism and banned. In a comment published on the ABC's News site on August 11, 2015, one poster observed, in relation to barracking and accusations of racism, 'Everyone loves to get into the rowdy spirit at the footy, they love cheering the heroes, and love booing the villains. That's why we go - for the lively atmosphere. The players decide whether they're treated as the hero or villain, by their on-field behaviour...It's sad to see the on-field theatre of footy, construed into a politically-correct off-field witch-hunt.' 2. Fans are often not being deliberately racist Those who are concerned about excessive penalties being imposed on fans accused of racism, stress that, for many, the taunts issued are an innocent act, made without any intention to be racist. It is also claimed that to construct taunts which are not meant to be racist as such actually serves to create racial division. Over the last five years there have been at least three highly publicised incidents of fans calling Indigenous players 'apes' or implying this designation. On each occasion the offending fan has claimed no intent to be racist. The mother of a 13-year-old girl who called Indigenous player, Adam Goodes, an 'ape' during a game in 2013 has since stated, 'She'd only turned 13 five days beforehand...She had no idea what she was saying...' Picking on a 13-year-old child I thought was absolutely ridiculous and having her questioned by police without an adult being present was absolutely disgusting on the part of ... the AFL.' The Collingwood president, Eddie McGuire, though extending an 'unconditional' apology to Adam Goodes for the young Collingwood fan's comment also said, 'I think, you know, she might have lit a fuse that she didn't even understand was involved...She was a 13-year-old girl from ... country Victoria, she had no idea what she was doing, what she was saying.' When on August 20, 2016, a fan was given a life-time ban from her club for throwing a banana at Indigenous player Eddie Betts, her father claimed that his daughter's action had been misinterpreted. The man said, 'The thing that irritates me probably the most is that we're playing the racist card here... [This was] more an act of frustration than a racist act where she's thrown a banana. You people in the media, you sensationalise anything.' In April, 2017, a woman had her Facebook account deactivated for calling Eddie Betts an 'ape' and for suggesting he should go back to the zoo where he belonged. When later interviewed by Channel 7, the woman claimed she had not been racist, rather, she stated, 'I just don't like the players, never have liked them, never will like them,'. She further stated that she was herself 'part-Aboriginal' and that she did not find the comments she had made racist. The problem of defining racism was even more acute regarding the booing of Indigenous player, Adam Goodes. Many commentators regarded the persistent booing as racist; others explained it as a response to aspects of Goodes' on and off-field behaviour. Rita Panahi, a commentator for The Australian stated, 'It's all too easy to frame the debate in terms of race but it is neither accurate nor helpful in curbing unruly crowd behaviour. This may come as a shock to some in the media and the AFL but decent folk don't like being falsely portrayed as racists.' 3. Identifying offenders is difficult It has been claimed that harsher penalties (whether imposed by the law, individual clubs or the League as a whole) will prove an inadequate solution to the problem of racism among AFL fans as it is very difficult to identify the offenders. On December 31, 2015, The University of Notre Dame, Australian Law Review published a paper written by Chris Davies and Neil Dunbar of James Cook University. The paper is titled 'Internal Policing of the Enduring Issue of Racism in Professional Team Sports'. The paper states, 'spectators...[represent] the main problem area for sport. The reasons for this are that it can be harder to identify the culprits and there is a lack of formal contracts between the sporting leagues and the spectators...' A news report broadcast on Racing & Sport News on April 19, 2011, highlights the difficulty of identifying and apprehending fans who voice racial abuse. The Hawks chief executive, Stuart Fox (referring to trying to locate a particular fan who had called out sexist taunts from the stadium) stated, 'It's not going to be easy to find the offender.' Fox further noted, 'We've had a look at some (television) footage and it's certainly going to be hard to find from that. If anyone was there we would encourage them to call into the club or the AFL because then we would be in a position to take some action, but until we can find the offender we really can't do too much.' Appealing to AFL fans more generally, Fox stated, 'I'd encourage all supporters of every club out there, if they see something or hear something that's offensive like this that they do have a right to report it. It's hard to manage because it puts people on the spot and can cause a bit of friction at stadiums.' In response to the recent racial abuse directed at Indigenous player Patrick Ryder, Port Adelaide has issued a statement including the following, 'After interviewing witnesses, including immediate family of a Port Adelaide Football Club official, the club has resolved that Ryder was subject to racial abuse. Spectators in the immediate vicinity challenged the Crows supporter on his remarks and upon being challenged the offender ran away before stadium security could be alerted. As a result, an official report with Adelaide Oval Stadium Management could not be lodged.' The difficulty in identifying the offending fan has meant that no action could be taken against him. Port Adelaide has asked him to identify himself, but he has yet to do so. Some opponents of harsher penalties for AFL supporters who make racist comments argue that if these penalties cannot be imposed because those committing the offence cannot be identified then the penalty is pointless. 4. Legal penalties, club-based fines and across-League penalties are an over-reaction Some commentators have claimed that negative reactions toward football fans that are racially abusive are too extreme. In an opinion piece published in The Adelaide Advertiser on April 12, 2017, commentator Andrew Bolt stated, 'The politics of race and offence-taking has made us mad - completely unable to distinguish between the serious and the trivial... Are we crazy? Have we lost the ability to simply disapprove of something without also demanding it be banned, crushed, wiped out or dragged off to the judges to be hanged?' Bolt argues that we have privileged racial abuse in a way that is not reasonable. He asks, 'So in what way is... [this]kind of abuse more serious than calling someone fat, stupid, lazy, dumb, ugly, gutless, dishonest or a hundred other things more personal, going to character rather than colour of skin?' Bolt appears to be arguing that victims of such abuse would be better to ignore it. He commends Eddie Betts for doing so, stating, 'Betts is a class act, a true and forgiving gentleman who has come out of this looking even better.' Some commentators have further suggested that if the AFL over-reacts to allegations of racism among football fans they may in fact inflame the situation. This possibility was put by one of the respondents to Andrew Bolt's comment, who suggested 'The AFL is creating the problems themselves with their extreme stance on political correctness.' A range of social commentators have suggested that in an attempt to combat different types of racism some individuals and organisations have gone too far and converted unthinking comments into sources of offence. This opinion was made in a comment written by Hsin-Yi Lo in the Huffington Post on August 19, 2016. Hsin-Yi Lo stated 'PC has inadvertently bred a "I'm so easily offended" culture where we blow things out of proportion.' Hsin-Yi Lo quoted former United States president George W Bush who has stated, 'The notion of political correctness has ignited controversy across the land. And although the movement arises from the laudable desire to sweep away the debris of racism and sexism and hatred, it replaces old prejudice with new ones. It declares certain topics off-limits, certain expression off-limits, even certain gestures off-limits.' 5. Education is a better means of countering racism within the AFL Commentators who oppose the imposition of harsher penalties on fans accused of racism, either by individual clubs or across the League, argue that such penalties may well be inappropriate and counter-productive. There is the concern that such penalties only drive racism temporarily underground and may, in fact, foster greater hostility. In an opinion piece published in The Australian on May 10, 2014, Christian Kerr quoted British philosopher Roger Scruton, who has stated, 'You can penalise people for making racist remarks but the more you penalise them for making those racist remarks the more the racist thoughts will grow beneath them and you'll build up huge tensions between groups that will burst out in some other way.' Instead, many claim the AFL has the capacity to act as a powerful educative force that can promote positive social values. In an opinion piece published in The Herald Sun on April 10, 2017, Susie O'Brien stressed the capacity of the AFL to shape popular attitudes. This responsibility, she suggested, is borne by individual players, clubs and the League as a whole. O'Brien stated, 'Port Adelaide, for instance, has nine indigenous players, a dedicated Aboriginal Academy team and extensive Aboriginal community programs. Bodies like the AFL should do what they can to combat sexism, racism and homophobia. Individual players, who are such powerful role models in our community, should speak up about racist attitudes and behaviour... In the end, it's only a game, but its power to bring out social change should not be underestimated.' Those who support less punitive measures note that the AFL is already effectively employing educative programs. It has already developed a range of resources to teach football clubs and others the harm caused by prejudice and to help them achieve inclusion in all areas of the sport. AFL has produced a Culturally Inclusive Community Football Club Toolkit which provides information for football clubs on the barriers and enablers of engaging those from culturally and linguistically diverse populations The AFL has also produced a Racial Vilification - Video and Educational Resource showing an interview with Joel Wilkinson, ex Gold Coast Suns player, who discusses racism and his experience of racism during his football career. This resource contains information on how to deliver the resource, key questions, key messages and a fact sheet on racism. The AFL has recently received funding from the Department of Social Services to provide a range of social cohesion activities targeting the inclusion of multicultural individuals in community football clubs around Australia. It has been claimed by some that measures such as these are more likely to prove effective than punishments which may well be seen as divisive, promoting hostile attitudes rather than alleviating them. Over time, changing attitudes on field and in community clubs are hoped to change attitudes within the community at large. |
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