Quote Originally Posted by Meg View Post
‘Port Adelaide's Aboriginal programs director Paul Vandenbergh says the film (about Adam Goodes) is "quite confronting".

"People like Shauny Burgoyne and Eddie Betts stood up afterwards and spoke on behalf of the group with tears in their eyes," Vandenbergh said on Tuesday.

"Talking about not so much the industry not standing up, but we as Aboriginal people didn't stand up for Adam at the time.

"We sort of stayed silent, which was what we were probably really sad about when we watched the doco."’

Goodes documentary a 'line in the sand', says Vandenbergh - AFL.com.au
In Burgoyne's case , he basically put his fans before his people, as Hawks fans were among the worst booers of Goodes. Rioli was silent on it as well. They have to live with themselves on that decision.

Other indigenous players were probably just wary of poking the bear (AFL) and upsetting their clubs relationship with the league, after seeing the way the league treated the Swans post the Tippett/Franklin recruitments. Or they were instructed by their clubs to not 'poke the bear'. Either way, they too have to live with their actions....

I think all this highlights the power of the AFL and as such, highlights the total lack of appropriateness of their initial response and follow up actions once they finally realised that they, as the moral arbiters they had promoted themselves to be, needed to actually step up and set a more appropriate example.....instead of letting the previously mentioned animosity toward the Swans cloud their 'judgement' on the Goodes issue. The issue became too big to ignore. Alas, it was all too late and the damage was done.

As for Maguire coming out on the subject this week and the racists jumping on social media to defend themselves ahead of the doco.....well, that's just guilt rearing it's head and self preservation kicking in. Typical of selfish (and stupid) narcissists....they expose themselves all the time. I'm just going to ignore all of them this time round......or at least try to.