Footy legend Adam Goodes has turned down an offer to be inducted into the 2021 AFL Hall of Fame, following years of racism.
The decision comes as a response to how Goodes has been treated by the AFL in his final years with the league, alluding to the racist controversies and lack of support from the industry that marred this era.
In 2013, Goodes was the centre of racist controversy after a 13-year-old Collingwood supporter called him an ape, to which Goodes responded by having security eject her from the venue.
This did not go down well, and started an intense wave of resentment from football fans that’s continued over the years.
In 2015, things got even worse as Goodes celebrated a goal by performing an Indigenous war dance, which involved him miming throwing a spear towards the crowd.
The act was misinterpreted as an attack on booing fans, and escalated his controversial status even further.
Richard Goyder of the AFL chair believes that “the treatment of Adam in his final years at AFL level drove him from football. The AFL and our game did not do enough to stand with him at the time, and call it out.”
Adam Goodes telling the AFL Hall of Fame to go fuck itself gives me life 🖤💛❤️
— B R E T T O (@Brettoshank) June 7, 2021
He goes even further to say that “failure to call out racism and not standing up for Adam let down all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players, past and present.”
Goyder says that he knew of Goodes’ decision, but that Goodes did not want it to go public until the induction event had passed.
Goodes expressed that he did not want his decision to distract fans from the 2021 inductees – proving that Goodes’ decision is sincere, and detached from any publicity effort.
However, the news was ultimately leaked following the postponing of the induction ceremony, originally scheduled for June 22, due to the unexpected Covid situation Victoria has been facing recently.
It is unclear when the ceremony will now take place.
Adam Goodes is a legend. He does not need any AFL corporate validation #IStandWithAdam
— Lara_M_Arts (@sacdefromage) June 8, 2021
