The Aboriginal Footballer Problem In The AFL
You may or may not have noticed a dearth of Indigenous footy players running around in the current crop of AFL players. Indeed, you may be aware of the absence of star players like Bobby Hill from Collingwood and Tyson Stengle from the Cats. Then, there is the long running Jamarra Ugle-Hagan saga, which stretched from the Western Bulldogs to the Gold Coast Suns. What do these three things have in common? They all involve Aboriginal AFL players who were or are on lucrative long term contracts with their clubs not playing or training as required. The Aboriginal footballer problem in the AFL.
“Hill is contracted until the end of 2030 after signing a lucrative four-year extension early last year, but the Magpies are currently negotiating an exit with the small forward's manager, Anthony McConville, from Mac's Sports Promotions. The 26-year-old hasn't played a senior game since round 21 last year due to personal issues and has barely trained with the program at all this year.”
- (https://www.afl.com.au/news/1566148/we-love-this-guy-for-the-rest-of-our-lives-emotional-collingwood-magpies-coach-craig-mcrae-prepares-for-bobby-hill-to-leave-pies)
Indigenous Players In The AFL: A Complex Issue
Now, it is easy to condemn such behaviour out of hand as not measuring up to the necessary standards. However, there are always two sides to every story and in the case of Indigenous footy players they live in a different world to most non-Indigenous folk. You may well only appreciate these fellas for their sublime silky skills out on the AFL oval but they have other parts to their lives, which many sports mad Aussies are ignorant of. As much as One Nation, would wish it so, we are not all the same. Whether you know anything about Aboriginal culture, or not, it exists. Big extended family groups, lots of poverty and related social issues affecting individuals within that clan structure. You get one fella, suddenly earning really big bucks and that puts a complexity into those interfamilial relationships.
Young Black Fellas In The AFL
Add in the fact that these are essentially young blokes and young guys often make stupid mistakes in how they go about things, no matter the colour of their skin. Lots of money, lots of family ties, lots of status within the group and a lack of understanding from footy clubs used to dealing with mainly Anglo-Aussies. You get the picture. AFL clubs are on a steep learning curve when it comes Indigenous players. We have witnessed the Hawthorn/Rioli and other Aboriginal past players have a very public falling out over their perceived treatment by coaches and the club. Alistair Clarkson and Chris Fagan both have expressed their hurt at being blamed for this apparent mistreatment. You can imagine that in the past, Anglo-Aussies used to dealing with others of their own kind may have omitted to provide the extra respect warranted by Aboriginal people. Once again this highlights that we are not all the same and the shallow assimilative attitude of Pauline Hanson and her One Nation. The truth is that for many years Australians were brought up to see Aboriginal people as lazy and good for nothing. This has changed somewhat in recent times but people of Fagan’s vintage were schooled as such. I know because I am of that age. Victim blaming is all too common in the manosphere.
We Are A Patchwork Of Cultures Downunder
The Aboriginal footballer problem in the AFL. The world is not how you want it to be or reckon it should be. You cannot just put aside generations of neglect and indifference toward Aboriginal people and say we are all the same, One Nation is full of racist oversights. In the real world it does not work like this. The AFL is the biggest football code in Australia and a billion dollar business. Aussies of all types thrill to the fabulous feats performed on our footy fields. Aboriginal players are some of the best exponents of the game. The fact that they also come with a different bag of cultural issues has to be properly engaged with. It is not one size fits all. The problems which have emerged in the forms of Bobby Hill, Jamarra Ugle Hagan and Tyson Stengle and their absences from the game have to be understood and learnt from. It is not a case of the big wheels of the AFL just rolling over and crushing pesky non-conformists. If we want to see the best play this game, we must provide deeper care for these players who have different requirements from those white skinned kids from generations of middle class families. Australians, more generally, do not want to confront what has been done to generations of Indigenous folk and its ramifications. No, they would rather watch the footy instead.
Goodes Was Booed Out Of The Game By The Mob
I clearly remember Adam Goodes being booed by AFL fans at games. There is a carve out for sporting stars with the wrong coloured skin. They are given that special status by the mob and can be celebrated for their sublime skills on the footy field. There are caveats to that position of exultation, however, do not get political being the most important. Goodes was made Australian of the Year by the government of the day. That he would use this to call out racism was beyond the pale for the mob. Adam Goodes was booed out of the game that he loved by the unrelenting mob of white AFL fans. The AFL Commission did nothing to support Adam Goodes at the time.
“Adam Goodes has said the booing saga that overshadowed the final years of his AFL career turned the football field into a place he hated.” - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-01/adam-goodes-reveals-mental-toll-of-booing-saga/11375004
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZGNBhy3m1Y Far Right Racists Are Bullies
The Aboriginal footballer problem in the AFL. You can sugar coat things with the best of intentions but racism beats in the breasts of too many sports loving Aussies. The apparent rise of One Nation, which clearly has a far right, white supremacist agenda is proof positive of this. White people want someone to blame and scapegoats are often those with dark coloured skin. Stupid people like to punch down, as well, rather than take on the big end of town. Picking on refugees, immigrants and Aboriginal folk is seen as easier than cashed up corporations and the power elite running the show. The blame game is close to the heart of many.
We Are Not All The Same!
“At the golf course, I all too frequently meet the monoculture rendition of what it means to be Australian. The One Nation version of it, now gaining in renewed popularity, according to some in the polls. On the tee, older blokes share a joke at the expense of anyone or anything appearing to be too different in their view. A strange name for instance or someone from outside the defined norms of their little world. It can be like returning to the school yard, where the mob picked on the outliers. In this society, you can be from somewhere else but you must assimilate by acting like a true blue Aussie. A bit like the smarter kids at school who had to act dumb to fit in with the cooler ones.”
- (https://www.golfdom.com.au/the-monoculture-rendition-of-what-it-means-to-be-australian/)
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of The Stoic Golfer; The AI Heresy; What Price Life?; America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump; and other titles. NOW AVAILABLE AT APPLE BOOKS & GOOGLE PLAY BOOKS. Google Play Books AUDIOBOOK
©GolfDom
