PAST, PRESENT… AND FUTURE?
An Exploration into Racial Vilification in the AFL
Written by Lily Tuck, Stella Thomson, Patrick Doyle, Lola McKimm and Gerald Lynch
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In the light of recent allegations from former first nations Hawthorn football players, the AFL is once again experiencing a reckoning with its embedded issues of racial vilification.
In this article we explore where the issue started, how it stands currently and what needs to change in years to come.
WHERE DID
WE START?
Over the past 172 years the official game of Australian Rules Football has seen an ongoing issue of racism toward indigenous Australians, stemming from the ingrained racism in Australian culture.
The history of the game itself and the ‘creation’ of it by Tom Wills often comes under speculation from historians on whether Wills first saw the game of marngrook being played by indigenous Australians in northern Victoria, evidence of this has been supported in historical readings and imagery produced in the early 1800’s.
Although it has never been confirmed whether Wills was inspired by indigenous culture the similarities cannot be denied.
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Looking past the origins of the game and the racism that stems from the appropriation of another culture, the game itself has not been shy of having historic events of white Australians vilifying the games indigenous players over the past two centuries.
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Joe Johnson is celebrated as the first indigenous player in AFL in 1903, however as retold by Barry Judd, a professor and director of indigenous studies at Melbourne University,
“he was never actually able to reveal his Aboriginality at the time, as it would have ended his football career, a fact ignored today.”
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1858
This article contains images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Peoples who have died.
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1903
"He was never actually able to reveal his Aboriginality at the time, as it would have ended his football career, a fact ignored today."
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SPEAKING OUT
The early 1990s saw a bout of action against racial vilification with First Nations players taking a public stand against abuse.
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Nicky Winmar, an Aboriginal Noongar man made an iconic stand at a game against opposition spectators who were hurtling racial abuse against the St Kilda player on the 17th of April 1993.
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‘‘I’m black and I’m proud to be black’ said Winmar as he lifted his jersey and pointed at his stomach.
The moment and subsequent photograph has been seen symbolically as kicking off a movement against racial vilification in the AFL.
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Matthew Klugman, a teacher and researcher Victoria University says that the picture’s symbolism doesn’t stand alone.
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“The power, appeal and dominant meaning of the photograph might appear to be self-evident. But neither the fame of the image nor its racial connotation was automatic,” he says.
The responses that followed included a headlining story in The Sunday Age with the photo and commentary about the moment by the then Collingwood Club President Alistair McAlister that give an insight into the type of racism at the time.
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''As long as they [Aborigines] conduct themselves like white people, well, off the field, everyone will admire and respect them,'' he said.
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This year, at the 2022 Brownlow Medals, Winmar was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame - an act which Winmar says is “about time.”
A CHANGE?
1995
In 1995 Micheal Long, an Anmatyerre, Maranunggu and Tiwi man playing for Essendon was abused by his Collingwood opponent, Damian Monkhorst during the annual ANZAC round between the two teams..
Long reported the incident to the AFL, with Collingwood’s Monkhurst apologising two weeks later.
The incident spurred on the AFL to adopt legislative procedures against racial and religious vilification through the development of Rule 30: A Rule to Combat Racial and Religious Vilification through the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Now called Rule 35, the AFL Player Rule policy states that the League “has seen an increased understanding and commitment to stamping out vilification,” since its induction “across the community including Indigenous, Multicultural and Female participation.”
The AFL was the first Australian sporting body to adopt such procedures. However, given events that continue to highlight the AFL’s issue with racism on and off the field (see Goodes & Hawthorn examples) we ask:
The events of 1930 saw Doug Nicholls vilified and excused from the game of football by Carlton due to his appearance and the way he “smelled” according to recounts published by Amnesty international.
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‘No, we’re not going to rub you down because you stink’,” his nephew Robert Nicholls recalls.
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However, in the years following, Nicholls played for Fitzroy and Victoria in the State of Origin, before retiring and pursuing his role as a Civil rights Leader. The indigenous round of football we see today, is named after Sir Doug Nicholls and coincides with the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum.
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Events of racism like this carried on for years to come and it wasn’t until the actions of those who spoke out was a conversation sparked regarding the inherent racism involved in the beloved Australian sport.
The timing of this historical event fell on a period in history where racism in Australia and the world was coming to a head on a conversational front, from the Mabo decision being passed in Australian high courts, to the actions of Los Angeles police being found guilty in court for their assault toward Rodney King.
1930
1993
- Barry Judd, professor and director of indigenous studies at Melbourne University
Select and image, move it around or enlarge to zoom in
This etching by Gustav Muetzel drawn in the 1850s shows Aboriginal people playing football or Marngrook. Source: 142 photographic images: From 10 years experience compiled by Wilhelm v. Blandowski
Pando (ball) and Kandomarugutta (sling). Source: AW Cawthorne papers held in the Mitchell Library dating from the 1840s.
Joe Johnson, the First AFL Indigenous Player for Fitzroy. Source: Brisbane Lions
Sir Doug Nicholls. L-R Images sourced: NSW Football History, The Footy Almanac and Brisbane Lions
Micheal Long. Source: Australian Football
Why does the AFL continue to uphold a racist identity?
2011
In June 2011, Western Bulldogs player Justin Sherman received a four match suspension and was ordered to donate $5,000 to a charity of the Gold Coast Suns' choice. This was in response to his racial vilification of Gold Coast rookie Joel Wilkinson.
Wilkinson was just 19 at the time and was making his AFL debut, a day usually worth celebrating and remembering. However, he remembers the day for all the wrong reasons after he was racially vilified due to his Nigerian heritage and dark skin.
Incidents like this unfortunately do occur in sports, but what really counted is how the Western Bulldogs and the AFL as a whole handled the vilification. Justin Sherman was still somehow permitted to play at VFL level throughout his ban for Bulldogs’ affiliate side Williamstown, and after his ban was served he stayed on the list and played more games in 2012.
To add further insult to injury on this matter, Guy McKenna, the senior coach of the Suns at the time was asked if he believed there was no place for racism in footy to which he replied “that is fair to say.”
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As well as that the official position of the club as per the CEO Travis Auld was that it was satisfied with the outcome.
This is a prime example of why the AFL is still riddled with racism and discrimination because when an opportunity such as this arises for the AFL to completely stamp it out they just handed out a slap on the wrist to Sherman.
2012
On 16 March 2012, Adelaide list manager Matt Rendell was forced to resign following a racist comment he made that was called out by the AFL’s national community engagement manager Jason Misfud.
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Even after resigning Rendell insisted that the comment was taken out of context and took to Footy Classified to tell his side of events.
"I said as a throwaway line, as a ridiculous line, you might find we only recruit (Aboriginal) players with one white parent if it's not addressed now,"
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"I've never had a policy like that in my life. I wouldn't have a policy like that, it's ridiculous, silly. Everyone's the same.
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"The comment that I made originally was stupidly trying to emphasise the problem that we've got at the moment and we need to do something about it quick and the AFL need to get involved in it."
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Whether it was said as a joke or to point the finger at the AFL it was still viewed as highly unacceptable by the wider community. This however did not stop Matt Rendell from finding a new job as part of the recruitment team at Collingwood just three years on.
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Even now Rendell is a regular panellist on the extremely popular AFL Trade Radio that airs every off-season. To hear Rendell’s voice and opinions every year is a sorry reminder for Aboriginals and other people of colour that the AFL still openly employs people who have made comments such as this.
2014
In Round 22, 2014 abuse toward Adam Goodes began again, this time also involving teammate Lance Franklin. In a match against the Western Bulldogs in Docklands, a 70 year old spectator shouted racist comments out throughout the match at the two Indigenous players.
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This time around the players did not hear the offensive comments themselves, and it was instead disapproving fans who reported the man and his unsociable remarks. In response Western Bulldogs CEO Peter Gordon unreservedly apologised and quickly cancelled the offender’s club membership. He was also handed a fine by Victoria Police, but the issue here is the punishments were evidently not harsh enough to deter others from committing similar offences.
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Throughout 2014, Goodes was abused by Collingwood, Essendon, and Western Bulldogs fans for the colour of his skin and his Aboriginal background. All three fans had their memberships cancelled, yet remarks of the same nature continue to occur.
2015
Adam Goodes. Source: The Monthly
In 2015, it became clear that football fans had not learned or matured from the previous year where Adam Goodes was racially abused on three separate occasions, with constant booing of the Indigenous star forcing him into a heartbreaking retirement.
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In late May in the Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous round, a time meant for celebration and recognition of the Aboriginal culture. Donning a brilliant Indigenous themed guernsey, Goodes decided to celebrate a goal with a traditional war cry dance which mimicked the action of throwing a spear into the crowd.
The Carlton fans did not take a liking to this and booed Goodes for the remainder of the match.
The outrage toward Goodes’ celebration spread all across social media and subsequently all across the country, Goodes began to get booed every time he touched the football in the coming weeks.
Fans claimed that they were not booing Goodes because he was Aboriginal, but because they just didn’t like him as a player. While that type of thing does happen on occasion, the widespread nature of the booing pointed to a more serious issue - this was bullying.
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It was really starting to affect Goodes, so much so to the point that he took a week of personal leave from the sport in July. He returned a week later to a warm reception in Sydney but the very next week back in Melbourne the jeering continued once again.
Goodes was 35 at the time and likely already considering retirement, but this awful treatment pushed him over the line and left a sour taste in his mouth of the sport as a whole and it highlighted just how far Australia still had to come to reach a respectful and equal society.
Adam Goodes 'War Dance'. Source: Why Warriors
How does racism in the AFL compare to other sports?
Take a look at some other sports that are most popular in Australia and around the world and explore how racial vilification is so prevalent and disturbingly high across many of our greatest games.
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Scroll through and click on a sport to find out more.
How has social media impacted the issue?
2022
In July 2022, the Fremantle Dockers enjoyed a strong win against St Kilda at Marvel Stadium. Two days after the match Indigenous player Michael Walters and Sudanese player Michael Frederick both posted screenshots of abuse they were subjected to on Instagram.
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The pair were both extremely disappointed with the comments, but Walters especially spoke out on the matter on his Instagram story, "The s*** you have to put up with after a game of football," Walters posted with his screenshot.
"After every game I'm sick of opening my socials to uneducated messages like this."Take a hard look at yourselves."
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Just weeks later, Indigenous Brisbane player Callum Ah Chee received racial abuse via social media too. After being hit off the ball by Patrick Cripps and Cripps receiving a suspension, a Carlton supporter took to social media to abuse Ah Chee for being too soft and used racial slurs.
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Ah Chee replied to the racism on his Instagram story, pleading for online abuse to stop. "Why can't my brothers and I just play the game we love without having to worry about shit like this … if my son grows up playing the game — I hope he doesn't have to deal with this hate. It hurts and I'm sick to death of seeing it."
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For this to still be so prevalent in 2022 shows poses questions about the underlying issues caused by social media, with the average person having enough confidence to attack and abuse the AFL players because they have the protection of being behind a keyboard.
How does the future of racism in the AFL look?
Acknowledging the past, and creating a call to action and evidence a driven plan is important in beginning to reconcile and resolve these issues of systemic racism, and racial vilification moving into the future. Unfortunately, it is difficult for the AFL to control the thoughts of all Australians and how they put this into action but they can protect AFL players from prejudice - based racism moving into the future.
With the current turmoil surrounding the Hawthorn football club racism allegations against senior members, a First Nations’s truth- telling commission has been assembled to encourage families to come forward and bring to light any details of injustice that they have received.
Further, a four person panel has been assembled and work has launched an investigation into the allegations. Whether the allegations are true or not, aboriginal players over the years have received treatment that is offensive, and unfair - sparking a conversation that needs to happen ,and an action plan to protect this moving into the future.
It is a definite positive that the AFL have taken these allegations nso seriously. This is largely due to a new generation of players moving through the AFL system, that pairs players that are aware of what racism is, why it is wrong and the way to call it out, as well as aboriginals who feel backed within their clubs and communities to make systemic issues like these known, and ironed out.
“In my view, structural changes similar to those that have already commenced in higher education need to occur.” said Barry Judd, professor and director of indigenous studies at Melbourne University.
More specifically, moving into the future it is essential to bring issues to light, address them and the move into the future with an ability to understand how detrimental racism is on the Indigenous Australian community. An already marginalised community, ensuring that Indigenous Australians feel supported both on and off the football field is essential.