Booing of Adam Goodes by fans of Melbourne clubs

[Nico]

Totally incorrect, he has been booed at near every game i have seen him play in Melbourne. This has been from large sections of the crowd multiple times a year for 10+ years.

The game against North the week after he got a reprimand for a slide in or was it a swipe at a WCE player. Whatever, it was the start of all the booing. They were relentless for the whole game, way more than last Saturday. There is an element in Melbourne who think he is over rated and a protected player, and all the subsequent incidents have just confirmed this to these people. I don't see him staging too often, but like Hall, he has endured holding pushing etc with little support from umpires, hence maybe some frustration and tweaking in contests. But as someone else says it is the racist card that has made the booing continue.
When you hear Hawthorn supporters making monkey sounds and downright derogatory racist comments directed at him at the footy you can only come to one conclusion. Sure, there has been some minor booing from other clubs in Melbourne, but in the main it is Hawthorn supporters who continue with gusto.

Another angle is; the more they boo him the more they think they are putting him and the team off their game. Sorry is doesn't work.

[jono2707]

The standard awful comments have appeared on Facebook this arvo when Goodes was quoted as being disappointed in the booing. Whilst not outwardly racist, many stem from the fact that he "bullied a 13 year old girl then got Australian of the year for it". This seems to be a common perception among some of our more cerebrally-challenged AFL fans and has no doubt been fed to them by some in the Melbourne media. That, and him being a "sook", "princess" and "whinger" amongst other things definitely points to the "uppity black" syndrome mentioned here previously that seems to be an issue for some (predominantly anglo-saxon males) fans....

[Meg]

I have had the 'discussion' re Adam's AOTY award with others on previous occasions. Anyone can nominate any person they think is deserving - but of those who complain about Adam's award, I have yet to hear from one who actually put the time and effort into nominating someone whom they think was more deserving. And then these same people complain that Adam used his award to speak about racism. So did they complain when Patrick McGorry spoke about mental health issues? And now Rosie Batty is speaking up about domestic violence issues? That's WHY these people became the AOTY.

For anyone who is interested, the link below takes you to a video put together to publicise the AOTY nomination process and features the man who nominated Adam for the 2014 award and Adam himself. Both come across very impressively in my view.

Broken Yellow

[CureTheSane]

I'm not a big fan of the AOTY award for many reasons, the main one being that we as a society single out one person who has supposedly done something of significantly greater value.
Add to that it's to a degree a press driven award.
I liken it to a King of Moomba.

But those thoughts are a separate issue to Adam Goodes and the booing.
I honestly don't think the wider population give much of a crap about the AOTY, particularly a certain demographic who frequent the footy.
Many people I know dislike that sports people are held in any regard, let alone receiving these kinds of awards.

[Jeynez]

I honestly don't think the wider population give much of a crap about the AOTY, particularly a certain demographic who frequent the footy.
Many people I know dislike that sports people are held in any regard, let alone receiving these kinds of awards.

A lot of Hawthorn supporters were annoyed that Shane Crawford didn't win AOTY instead of Goodes, that's what they're claiming now anyway.
It bewilders me how they claim they're not booing for racist reasons, but in the same breath argue that Goodes' AOTY award award was illegitimate, that he bullied a little girl and shouldn't be offended by the word 'ape'.

[MomentByMoment]

No matter what a person identifies as the 'reason', the force behind it is discrimination.

It's the same pathology that made Alan Jones feel that it was ok to discuss dropping Julia Guillard into the sea in a sack.

Racism. Homophobia. Mysogeny. Etc. These ugly realities are always masked by 'reasons'.

[ernie koala]

No matter what a person identifies as the 'reason', the force behind it is discrimination.

It's the same pathology that made Alan Jones feel that it was ok to discuss dropping Julia Guillard into the sea in a sack.

Racism. Homophobia. Mysogeny. Etc. These ugly realities are always masked by 'reasons'.

spot on

[liz]

I'm not a big fan of the AOTY award for many reasons, the main one being that we as a society single out one person who has supposedly done something of significantly greater value.

I don't see the AOTY as "an award" per se. Not as a reward for past achievements. Rather I see it as giving an official platform for someone to increase awareness within society of an issue of current relevance. There are many such issues that are worthy of such elevation in the public arena, which is why we see a variety of people given the opportunity across the years. Most of the recipients of the award already have a profile - it's not necessarily a pre-requisite but it helps in getting attention and therefore the opportunity to deliver their message. Furthermore, many who are strong achievers in their chosen area have developed the social skills - verbal eloquence, leadership for example - to assist them to make the most of this opportunity.

I see Adam as fulfilling all the relevant criteria and thus a very worthy holder of the title for a year. I think that arguing that there might be others who "deserve it more" kind of misses the point.

On the issue of the booing, it's not as simple as saying other indigenous players don't get booed, therefore its not because he's indigenous. For a sizeable number of booers, its hard to escape the supposition that it's because he has publicly and repeatedly taken a stand against racism. In the process, he's made some people feel uncomfortable about themselves. There was much discussion around the 13 year old girl incident. Many sympathised with the girl. I can understand that. But sympathising with the girl and understanding why Adam did what he did aren't mutually exclusive. Undoubtedly there were some football supporters who - for whatever reason - had decided they didn't like Adam prior to the incident. People point to his onfield "antics". I don't really buy this. There are plenty of other players whose onfield transgressions are far more frequent and aggressive than anything Goodes has ever done. But whatever the reason, some who had already decided they didn't like a man they'd never met have used the Collingwood game incident to justify and intensify their dislike for Adam.

There were a number of views expressed at the time (and since) that I still fail to really get. One of the most baffling was something along the lines of "I didn't know ape was a racist term, therefore I refuse to accept that ape is often used as a racist term even though its now been explained to me, and therefore I defend my right to continue to use the term, even in situations where I am now aware someone might interpret it as having racist overtones." Another was ""I have a basic human right to insult others, regardless of the impact it had on others. It's part of the Australian culture and everyone else should just grow a thicker skin and accept I have this right." This lives on in the right many seem to think they have to boo at sports events, even though (or maybe because) it comes across as churlish, childish and generally anti-social.

I just don't get booing in general. I don't understand why people want to go to a football game and expend their energy that way. Does it make them feel good about themselves? Is it fun? Do they think that those sitting around them will hear it and think what a swell chap they must be? My bewilderment applies whether the target is Adam Goodes, James Hird, Jobe Watson, Brent Stanton, or even just an opposition player who has made it fractionally late to a contest or made a split second error in judgement and has been reported, or maybe caused an injury, as a result.

[Hotpotato]

There should be an area set aside for people who wish to attend the Melbourne games and partake in booing Adam Goodes .
The Adam Goodes booing Bay .
Adam is highly visible and so should the booers be .
If they wish to be so bold as to boo Adam , let them be seen as he is .

Booers this way sir, non booers this way .
Have the balls to put your hands up and declare 'I'm an Adam booer and proud of it ."
That way we can see who you are too.
We know who Adam is and what he stands for , together with Nicky , Michael, Buddy etc ...

Let's see clearly who you are.

You could even be interviewed on FOX footy by the boundary riders.
"What are you booing Adam most about today Sir?"

Then they won't feel so neglected booing with anominity in amongst their booing mates and the non booers.

Surely these people have something more intelligent to say than just 'Boo ' .

[desredandwhite]

Some Stuff

And this is the reason why I don't post that often on RWO anymore. Eventually, Liz comes along and says what I'm thinking, but adds eloquence and better wordiness.

Adam Goodes challenges people and the way they think. They feel a bit guilty and they're outraged that they feel a bit guilty, so they use that as a basis for abusing him.

Well played, Goodsey. You'll never be universally liked, but you'll make a difference.

[dimelb]

I agree with most of what Liz says,especially on the way the AOTY seems to be awarded now. When it first came in I thought it was to be a way of recognising achievements other than sport, which is something of a national obsession. It turned out to be a wonderfully inclusive way of recognising all sorts and conditions of Australians. When you run down the list which you can do here: List of Australian of the Year Award recipients - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
there are some startling names that pop up; who recalls Alan Bond sharing it with Galarrwuy Yunupingu, for instance? Or Paul Hogan?

Sportspeople still feature, but they have to be exceptional - Olympic gold medallists or world champions in their sport. Adam's sporting achievements were being recognised, along with his leadership role in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. It is what Teddy Roosevelt would have called "a bully pulpit" - and that seems to be a deliberate part of the process.

I agree too with what Liz says on the issue of booing Adam and the disingenuousness of those who exercise their right to be bigots.

But I reserve my right to boo Razor Ray if he reverts to his earlier form.

And I laughed at Hotpotato's suggestion. It's refreshing to see that even this contentious issue can be transformed by humour: well done.

[AnnieH]

There should be an area set aside for people who wish to attend the Melbourne games and partake in booing Adam Goodes .
The Adam Goodes booing Bay .
Adam is highly visible and so should the booers be .
If they wish to be so bold as to boo Adam , let them be seen as he is .

Booers this way sir, non booers this way .
Have the balls to put your hands up and declare 'I'm an Adam booer and proud of it ."
That way we can see who you are too.
We know who Adam is and what he stands for , together with Nicky , Michael, Buddy etc ...

Let's see clearly who you are.

You could even be interviewed on FOX footy by the boundary riders.
"What are you booing Adam most about today Sir?"

Then they won't feel so neglected booing with anominity in amongst their booing mates and the non booers.

Surely these people have something more intelligent to say than just 'Boo ' .

Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Brilliant.

The only time that booing is acceptable is when it is directed at an opposition player trying to kick a goal.
My boo mocker is legendary .... 99.9% of the time, they miss. (Yes, I used a calculator to get that figure.)