There is no place for racism in the AFL.

It is as simple as that.

The booing controversy surrounding Adam Goodes currently, however, isn't quite as simple.

Goodes is an undisputed legend of the game; he has played 365 games (most ever at Sydney, 9th most in the AFL), kicked 454 goals (5th most at Sydney, 67th most in the AFL), won 2 premierships, 2 Brownlow medals and has been an All-Australian 4 times.

Those numbers stack up with anyone who has ever played this great game.

So why is he being incessantly booed at away games across the country this year? Racism appears to be the general consensus among the media and AFL luminaries, and even Goodes himself, but from what I have personally seen it's a lot less sinister than that.

The fact that Goodes has been racially vilified also cannot be disputed, there have been well documented cases of this happening repeatedly in the last couple of years, but to label the constant booing as racist in its entirety is simply not correct.

Take Sunday's game against West Coast as an example. Goodes was booed by what seemed to be the majority of the crowd whenever he touched the ball, and two spectators were ejected over racial abuse. Any more than zero incidents of racism is too many, but when there is a crowd of almost 40,000 people with a large number of them booing and only two cases of racism emerge it has to be evident that there is a separate issue at play here as well.

Again, racism should not be tolerated at any level of sport or society, but commentators also need to be careful when labelling things such as this as it can often be a case of adding more fuel to the fire.

I have talked to several people about Goodes' case, primarily people who have themselves booed Goodes this season, and the consensus I have received is vastly different to the one being portrayed by the AFL and media. The most common reason given for the booing? Goodes is a bit of a sook.”

Simply put, the more Goodes complains about his treatment, the more booing he receives. When he stands in front of the media and states that he is being booed and that it upsets him, opposition fans take note and will then boo him more the next time that they are at one of his games. When AFL executives, club coaches and even players stand up for Goodes, it is seen as akin to dobbing”.

Remember when you were in high school and that kid who was getting picked on complained to the teacher, who then told everyone to stop picking on them? What happened? Inevitably, that poor kid got picked on even more. I'm not condoning this sort of thing, for the record, but it is something that I feel really needs considering here.

]Coupled with this is the fact that those members of the crowd that have booed Goodes are being called racists, and their only right of reply is essentially through further booing next time they see Goodes at a game. If someone called you a racist, would you respond positively?
]


Ryan Crowley, Hayden Ballantyne, Lindsey Thomas, Jordan Lewis, Sam Mitchell, Jobe Watson. These are just some of the names that have been repeatedly booed by AFL fans either this year or in recent seasons past, so why is Goodes any different?

In any team sport these days a hostile away crowd is part of the game. If you want proof, just take a look at the US. Crowds are often heard chanting you ****ed up” when (primarily) opposition players make mistakes, when an NFL team visits the Seattle Seahawks they are certain to have to waste valuable time-outs as the home crowd makes so much noise on defense that the offensive players can't even hear each other yell, and professional athletes such as LeBron James are the subject of chants ranging from MVP” at home games to arsehole” and you're a flopper” (accusing him of staging/diving) at away fixtures.

By booing Goodes, the crowd are involving themselves in the game. If they can upset Goodes on the field, and in turn affect his performance, it will benefit their team and they most likely will do so. On the whole AFL spectators are an intelligent group but, like all groups of people, there are some that are ignorant, not very bright or simply racists. These people need to be informed that their behaviour is not acceptable and will not be tolerated, but calling on all fans to not boo any one player is in my mind a step too far.

From my personal experiences, I have given Lindsey Thomas a huge spray while he was lining up for goal just last season. I informed him that I thought he has staged for free kicks in the past, that he wasn't capable of kicking the goal and that maybe he should consider retiring, just not in those exact words. The end result was Thomas slotting the goal to give North Melbourne the lead and then turning to me after the kick and with a big smile giving me a fist pump. For me, this is the perfect reaction and the appropriate one. Lewis Jetta's response to the West Coast crowd on Sunday is another example of what I would consider a perfect reaction, he kicked a goal and celebrated with a war dance aimed at the hostile crowd.

In the last few days several figures in the AFL have offered their viewpoints on this matter, such as Melbourne coach Paul Roos being quoted as saying If Adam feels it's racist, well, it is racist”. I'm sorry Paul, but I really don't think it works like that. There is certainly an element of bullying involved, but if the majority of fans booing are booing for reasons that have nothing to do with race, how can it be racist? Sydney player Lewis Jetta also stood up for Goodes and stated that as a legend of the game he should be shown more respect. I would actually argue that he is being shown respect, if Goodes wasn't a great player and had no impact on the ground then no-one would bother with the booing. The fact that he is capable of turning a game single-handedly, coupled with the fact that he has admitted that the booing affects him, are the reasons opposition fans will continue to boo.

I have to say here that I personally have never been the target of discrimination, other than the ordinary. I don't know what it is like to be racially vilified, and as such can never truly understand the issue from the perspective of the victim. I also don't claim to speak for everyone booing Goodes, as much as any other person I can only go by what I know and have personally observed. I can also appreciate that racism is a blight that needs to be eradicated, but labelling anything negative against someone of a different ethnicity as racist is an act of racism in itself. ‘You can't treat someone differently, just because they are different.' Why not? ‘Because they are different.' See the problem there?

Obviously this is a complex issue, and almost every person will have their own opinions on the matter. Like all matters in the AFL this one will eventually be resolved in time, but in my mind this is an issue that will most likely go away as soon as everyone (now including me) stops talking about it so much.



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