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Adam Goodes Rejects 'Unanimous' Nomination To Be Inducted Into AFL's Hall Of Fame

Adam Goodes Rejects 'Unanimous' Nomination To Be Inducted Into AFL's Hall Of Fame

The Swans legend and dual Brownlow medalist has turned down the chance to be in the history books forever.

Anonymous

Anonymous

By Stewart Perrie

Adam Goodes has knocked back a chance to be inducted into AFL's Hall of Fame.

The Herald Sun has revealed the former Swans legend has turned down the 'unanimous' offer, but no formal reason has been given as to why.

It shouldn't be too hard to work out however, considering he was booed by fans for the last 18 months of his glittering career

The dual Brownlow medalist left the sport back in 2015 and hasn't looked back, with friends telling News Corp he doesn't watch or attend AFL games anymore.

The booing saga was so prominent that two documentaries have been made about the issue and the AFL has since formally apologised to Goodes for not doing more to stop it.

It all started in 2013 when he called out a 13-year-old Collingwood supporter in the crowd for calling him an 'ape'.

Hpeterswald (Creative Commons)

He called on the community to support the girl and blamed the environment she was brought up in that made her think that a racial slur like that was okay.

Goodes continued to speak out about Australia's problem with racism, especially when he was crowned Australian of the Year in 2014.

But nearly every time he took to the field he would be met with roaring boos from the crowd and it never abated until he left the sport altogether in 2015.

In a sign of support to Goodes, many clubs wore Indigenous-themed guernseys or armbands, and club captains made a collective video to discourage people from booing.

It wasn't until 2019, when the two documentaries were being released, did the AFL and all 18 clubs issue a proper apology.

They said in a joint statement: "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.

"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 will stand strongly with all in the football community who experience racism or discrimination. We are unified on this, and never want to see the mistakes of the past repeated."

Last year, Goodes as asked by the Guardian whether he thought his feelings towards the AFL could change.

He replied: "They haven't yet done, so..."

To support the fight against racial injustice visit ladbible.com/unheard

Featured Image Credit: AFL / Sydney Swans

Topics: Aussie Rules, afl, Racism, Australia