I’ve been going back and forth on this issue a fair bit. I know that as a Swans fan I am biased in my judgement, and if I remove that I can see how his reaction to being called an ‘ape’ could be perceived as an over-reaction. I agree that it could have been handled better, and I don’t have an issue with people who think that. In regards to his war dance against Carlton, I can also see how that can be seen as designed to deliberately taunt and tease the crowd to only intensify the booing. Based off that, some people might think that him being a ‘flog’ is justification enough for their booing. I don’t want to get into whether that is right or wrong. I also don’t think that it’s fair to label entire supporter groups as racist because of it.
However all of that being said, I don’t think the booing is really acceptable even if it’s beyond anyone’s control. It would be naïve to think that the booing isn’t race-related given how much it has intensified not only post Collingwood game, but post-AOTY, or post-Carlton war dance. I don’t pretend to know why every single person boos, but I think it’s clear that it has gained traction as a response to the media and because of the sheep mentality. As with a lot of schoolyard bullying, it’s perceived by the perpetrator as harmless and mindless entertainment. It’s funny because everyone else is doing it.
I don’t really think the whole concept of ‘they deserve to be booed because they are a flog’ comes into – that to me just seems like an afterthought as justification for their actions. I don’t think anyone prior to booing would make the conscious thought process of ‘Adam Goodes is a flog so I will just boo him.’ It’s more that you hear the noise and decide to join in, whether because of humour or because everyone else is doing it. I personally believe that is harmful because it is no different to the bullying you see in the playground or on the net – people who aren’t intending to hurt others but moreso doing it to prevent it being done to them or thinking it’s funny and harmless.
I think that the level of criticism he has received is unfair. People wish to label him as a sook but fail to see how manipulated they are by the media. It’s clear as day in the post-game press conferences how many questions are poised to Longmire regarding the boo-ing, whether it is racial vilification, how Adam Goodes feels about it and so on and so forth. What bothers me more than the actual booing itself is the media seeing this as a profitable opportunity and the vast majority lapping it up. Even in light of the other personal scandals that we have seen erupt over the years, I don’t think that any have received the same level of scrutiny and judgement.
The media want to portray him as the saviour for the minority, whilst knowingly pushing him under the bus to be hated. It’s clear as hell that they’ve made a mountain out of a molehill to sell a story, and it’s sad to see someone who is merely just a footballer on the end of it. He could have done things differently, but at the end of the day he didn’t. Maybe he privately regrets publically highlighting the girl at the football game, maybe he doesn’t. I don’t think people can say that they’ve never made a mistake, but they’ve never had to deal with the consequences as publically as Adam has.
As for the people who want to say that life isn’t easy, racism exists, stop being a sook etc. all I can say is I hope you never have a child grow up in an environment where it’s okay to be bullied because of differences you cannot change.
As a Swans fan, it will be a very sad day if he retires. From a pure footballing sense, hate him all you like but he is a legend of the game. Dual premiership player, brownlow medallist, multiple AAs, etc. Off the field, I have met Adam and he is beyond polite and easy-going. He is someone who I personally respect for his ability to bring light to controversial issues, and it is a shame that his exit may potentially be forced because of this. I don’t ever want to see someone forced out of doing something they love because of the actions of others – and I hope that doesn’t happen.