Adam Goodes

Update: Goodes has spoken at a Saturday morning press conference, saying that the woman who was ejected, who was actually a thirteen-year-old girl, called him an "ape". Not as bad as what we had feared, but still a comment that has well and truly stepped over the lines - far over - of good taste and decency. I will say again, there is nothing that makes such a comment acceptable. Footy is just a game. A game with a black eye, at the moment.

Quotes from Goodes:

"If she wants to pick up the phone and apologise I'll take that phone call. It's school stuff. I felt like I was in high school again."

"I decided to stand up last night and I'll continue to stand up because racism has no place in our industry ... and in our society."

"Dunno if it's the lowest point in my career but personally I don't think I've ever been more hurt by someone calling me a name."

"To hear a 13yo girl call me an ape...it was shattering. I turned around and I saw it was a young girl I was just like...really?"

"I'm pretty gutted to be honest. The win, the first of its kind in 13 years, to play such a pivotal role just means nothing."

Clearly, Adam Goodes is a better and more level-headed human being than most. Instead of being in a rampaging sort of anger, involving police and whatever else, he's trying to turn this situation into a moment where the AFL, and society in general, can learn a lesson, can try and make sure that this sort of thing never happens again. He deserves all the plaudits and congratulations in the world for that. It proves that he's as good a player on the field as he as a human being off it.

Of great concern to me was the lack of reaction from the fans around this 13-year-old girl at the game last night. Whether they were in such shock that they didn't confront her, didn't think they heard correctly, I don't know, but it was appalling that no one took this girl to task for what she'd said. I don't want to imagine that there were other supporters around who didn't have a problem with her calling Goodes an "ape". That would suggest that, society as a whole, has a very long way to go to stamp out the curse of racism.

Good work by Eddie McGuire, too. I don't usually offer congratulations to the president of the Collingwood Football Club, but he was bang on the mark on this one, and visibly angry about what had happened when shown on Channel 7 cameras going into the Swans dressing room following the game. That he went down there immediately says something about the culture that McGuire is trying to promote at Collingwood - though, on current evidence, failing - and it couldn't have been a happy reminder of Nicky Winmar twenty years ago. 

With the cameras on him, Eddie said some strong stuff, and it wasn't just lip service, I don't think. Rather, he said things that we were all thinking.Watching, I got the sense that he was horribly incensed and disgusted by what was said, and desperately wanted to make amends. Kudos, Ed.

Original Post: Sadly, we must touch on the disheartening story that will, unfortunately, dominate the aftermath of the game: the apparent racial slur directed at Adam Goodes by a young Collingwood fan in the last quarter. Goodes heard it, was obviously appalled, and made security aware of what had happened. We then saw the footage of the fan being escorted from the ground. Suddenly, the result of the game was less important. Goodes left the ground, and didn't return for the final siren or the post-game celebrations. The star of the game not going out onto the field for press commitments? Something obviously very wrong had happened. Goodes doesn't jump at shadows. For him to react like that...you can only imagine what horrible things were yelled over the fence. Senseless, dumb, stupid. Words can not accurately describe this girl's brain fade.

If it was indeed a racial slur, and that is still to be proven, this is a major blight on the game, on a game that has come so far socially, and has worked so hard to eradicate racism from the football community. And it has worked. Their cultural awareness programs are something the League should be mightily proud of. Tonight, it seems, and through no fault of their own, the AFL has taken a giant step backward. 

Let's get one thing straight: There is absolutely no place in footy - or in life - for that sort of behaviour. That it's happened during the AFL's indigenous round is even worse. This is the week, with it's centrepiece Dreamtime at the 'G, where we're highlighting the amazing contribution that indigenous stars like Goodes and Lewis Jetta, Harry O'Brien and Andrew Krakouer, and remembering the great stars of Aboriginal descent who have gone before.

This is going to be a bad week of press, if the worst is confirmed. For Collingwood, in the twenty-year shadow of their supporters villifying Nicky Winmar at Victoria Park, which brought about the St Kilda star's famous jumper-raising moment, this is a travesty. It will do no good for the reputation of Collingwood fans, already not great, and they will surely be in damage control over this. As will the AFL. It was a disgusting act, and a life ban doesn't seem quite enough for a moment that, sadly, will define Indigenous Round in 2013. A shame, because the focus should be on Adam Goodes for his work on the field, which was lifted from the Top Shelf tonight.