17,000 fans sign petition for indigenous footy star Adam Goodes to get a lap of honour on grand final day after he refused in 2015 due to 'racist' booing

  • Petition calling for Adam Goodes to be granted lap of honour at AFL grand final
  • Change.org petition has garnered more than 17,000 signatures within 48 hours
  • Sydney Swans legend refused to be part of lap of honour when he retired in 2015
  • Documentary detailing tumultuous end to his career has divided Australians 

By Kylie Stevens For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 05:06 EDT, 20 July 2019 | Updated: 05:07 EDT, 20 July 2019

There are growing calls for former AFL champion Adam Goodes to be honoured at this year's AFL grand final.

More than 17,000 have signed an online petition for the indigenous Sydney Swans legend to be granted a lap of honour around the Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 28 after a documentary detailing the tumultuous end to his career was aired on Thursday night.

Goodes refused an offer to be part of the traditional lap of honour for retiring players on grand final day when he ended his career in 2015 after he was booed by opposition fans for most of the season. 

Filmmaker Ian Darling's documentary The Final Quarter divided Australians with a thought-provoking look back on the racism, bullying and abuse the dual Brownlow Medallist copped in his final three seasons.

Adam Goodes, pictured with wife Natalie, has led a quiet life away from the AFL since 2015

Adam Goodes, pictured with wife Natalie, has led a quiet life away from the AFL since 2015

The program sparked an outpouring of emotions, ranging from admiration, shame and anger to sadness, regret and disappointment. 

Others disagreed, saying the Goodes was booed by opposition fans not for his race, but for his actions on the field. 

'Fake News movie that didn't even bother to ask those of us who booed him why we did it,' One Nation NSW leader and upper house MP Mark Latham tweeted.

'Stager, 13YO demoniser, Pollie on a footy field, Attacked our great country. Reason enough.'

A documentary on the indigenous AFL legend has divided Australians in recent days

A documentary on the indigenous AFL legend has divided Australians in recent days

Joshua Howlett started the Change.org petition on Thursday, which has garnered more than 17,000 signatures within 48 hours.

'Adam Goodes was not apart of the 2015 retiring players parade at the AFL Grand Final due to the incredibly harsh and obscene display of racism he received on a daily basis at the end of this career.'

'Sign this petition to show your support for Adam and to get the AFL to invite him to participate in this year's lap of honour. Let's give this great player and even better man the send off he deserves.'

Adam Goodes was repeatedly booed by St Kilda fans in one of his last AFL games in 2015

Adam Goodes was repeatedly booed by St Kilda fans in one of his last AFL games in 2015

An online petition has called for Adam Goodes to be granted a lap of honour on grand final day. Signatures have since grown to more than 17,000

An online petition has called for Adam Goodes to be granted a lap of honour on grand final day. Signatures have since grown to more than 17,000

Many supporters explained their reasons for signing the petition.

'The single greatest player I've ever had the pleasure to watch, deserves every accolade the game can bestow,' one wrote.

Another added: Adam Goodes is an extraordinary sportsman, person and role model. What a integrity, honesty, courage, passion, composure and hard work!'

There are also calls from fans for the Swans to retire Goodes' guernsey number 37 in honour of his outstanding contribution to society both on and off the field. 

Controversial media personality Sam Newman, who has come under fire in recent days over his comments at Goodes at the time believes the 372-game star would have been showered with cheers, not jeers had he'd been part of the grand final day lap of honour in 2015.

The controversial end of Adam Goodes' career began in 2013, where he publicly called out a 13-year-old girl who called him an ape during an Indigenous Round match against Collingwood

The controversial end of Adam Goodes' career began in 2013, where he publicly called out a 13-year-old girl who called him an ape during an Indigenous Round match against Collingwood

'I would think if he had got in a car and been paraded around the MCG in front of 100,000 people, not one person would have booed him,' Newman told 2GB on Friday.

'Because he wasn't playing football, they would have recognised him for what a great player he was, not because he was beating their side on the day. 

Goodes has led a private life away from the AFL since retirement and recently became a father for the first time when wife Natalie gave birth to daughter Adelaide. 

Late on Thursday night, filmmaker Ian Darling said he hoped viewers watched his documentary with an open heart and mind.

A second documentary, The Australian Dream will premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival on August 1, where Goodes revisits the 2013 incident where he publicly called out a teenage Collingwood fan after she called him an 'ape' during the Indigenous round.

Adam Goodes and his wife Natalie recently welcomed their first child, daughter Adelaide

Adam Goodes and his wife Natalie recently welcomed their first child, daughter Adelaide 

THE AFL'S FULL APOLOGY TO ADAM GOODES 

'The Australian Football League and the 18 AFL Clubs have come together to make this statement on behalf of our members, administrators, staff and players.

'The history of the game says that Australian Rules has officially been played for 161 years.

'Yet, for many years before, Aboriginal history tells us that traditional forms of football were played by Australia's first peoples all over Australia, most notably in the form of Marngrook in the Western Districts of Victoria. It is Australia's only Indigenous football game – a game born from the ancient traditions of our country. It is a game that is proudly Australian.

'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players are some of the most extraordinary players that the game has seen, and football has played a part in positive social change for many people and communities.

'2019 will see the release of two important films about football, racism and discrimination. The films focus on the treatment of Adam Goodes, one of the game's greatest champions, and tell the story of Australia's history with the First Peoples of this land.

'Through Adam's story, we see the personal and institutional experience of racism. We see that Australia's history of dispossession and disempowerment of First Nation's people has left its mark, and that racism, on and off the field, continues to have a traumatic and damaging impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players and communities.

'The treatment of Adam challenges us, and our right to be considered Australia's indigenous football code. Adam, who represents so much that is good and unique about our game, was subject to treatment that drove him from football. The game did not do enough to stand with him and call it out.

'We apologise unreservedly for our failures during this period.

'Failure to call out racism and not standing up for one of our own let down all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players, past and present.

'Our game is about belonging. We want all Australians to feel they belong and that they have a stake in the game. We will not achieve this while racism and discrimination exists in our game.

'We pledge to continue to fight all forms of racism and discrimination, on and off the field.

'We will stand strongly with all in the football community who experience racism or discrimination.

'We will listen to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players and communities to learn about the impact of racism and in doing so, we will gain a deeper understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

'We will continue to work to ensure a safe and inclusive environment wherever our game is played.

'And we urge all Australians, and in particular our supporters and fans, to see these films with open hearts and minds and learn from the experience and leadership of Adam Goodes, just as we are.

'We are unified on this, and never want to see the mistakes of the past repeated.'

Source: AFL 

 

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Thousands sign petition for Swans legend Adam Goodes to get lap of honour on AFL grand final day

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