VIDEO: Goodes gutted by girl’s name-calling
In the absence of Jacques intervention, WordPress’s coding interferes with my ability to ’embed’ this video on Troppo but I recommend it. Funny how my team and those around it can be depended on to play the role of baddie – though often redeemed in beguiling ways. And now, once more, just for the pure pleasure – Nicky Winmar. What a picture. What a moment.
If WordPress scrubs the embed code, the link to Goodes’ excellent press conference is here.
There’s nothing quite like a famous footballer and the nations media bullying a young girl under the guise of ‘racism’.
The trolls are out in force tonight I see.
Actually, I was being serious. Based on reports of what the girl actually said, I think this a case of political correctness gone overboard.
I have always liked Winmar’s unorthodox choice of finger to do the pointing.
No Adam, you were the adult man and father and although it’s understandable in the heat of the moment to be upset by the dredging up of some bad memories, after cooling off and calming down you had to realise you were the consumate, trained professional on big dough that shouldn’t have let a 13yr old schoolgirl get under your skin and in that you demonstrated Nicky Winmar and Barry Cable were better men than you in the heat of the moment.
I’m a father of a footballer and netballer and if my adult son responded to a silly teenage schoolgirl comment off the field like that I’d pull him up immediately to remind him to behave like a man. He has played against aboriginal teams in the Adelaide metro area and captained men ten years his senior and knows exactly how I expect him to behave, even though some of the most disgusting racist abuse was hurled at he and his teammates by aboriginal spectators, most notably women. That sort of abuse was not confined to balck women with a few feral whitefella teams I can recall, including at junior footy. Thankfully the men and boys on the field were largely not behaving likewise during the games.
But as much as Goodsy allowed his emotions to rule his head, even at the briefing of media well after the initial emotion, there was no excuse for the paid professional men, fathers, brothers and uncles at AFL level to lose their heads, and fall over themselves to rush to lockstep sorriest and indulge themselves in the national pillorying of a teenage schoolgirl. One paid professional among all those highly paid AFL officialdom should have seized the moment not to dump a vulnerable teenage girl outside a stadium at night and sought some immediate reconciliation for her with the likes of the 2 clubs and players cooperation which would no doubt have been given instantly. After all both teams have aboriginal players and here was the golden opportunity for a win/win reconciliation.
You deliberately round arm punch my son in the head while going for a mark and leave him with concussion and headaches for days and he has my permission to settle that score next round but names are water off his back or else but perhaps I’ll leave that sound advice to one of our expert Magistrates
I will admit to shock when, as what I believed to be a relatively hardened 12yo, I went to watch the local footy team.
The ball approached us and a home team player secured it and snapped it off down the ground, just seconds before an away player grabbed him by the neck and slung him into the fence.
The at-least-60yo grandma next me to then let fly with something rather like “get your fucken hands off him you dirty cunt!” Two minutes later she called another away team player something like “a fucken faggot”.
Times have changed and I think for the better. I can see that it is hard on the girl, but first of all, she is a Collingwood fan ;) and more importantly, I think it provides a much more meaningful message to the average local fan and player about what is and isn’t acceptable.
If anything, the most dangerous kind of prejudice is prejudice openly practiced by 13yo girls.
It’s OK they grow out of being screaming, hysterical schoolgirls with the vapours at Beatles concerts into solid upright hyphenated-hyperventilating misogyny maidens with complete amnesia. Cue our PM and the Misogyny Maidens here or perhaps they’ve gone off trolling?
As Port fans the missus and I rolled up late in the 1st qtr to a Port/Cats game at Footy Park quite a few years back with Port on the rise and with the Members area fairly packed headed for the far end where there were obvious spare seats. Spotted quite a vacant space and sat down oblivious to a very lone Cats fan a couple of rows in front.
A long time between drinks for Cats fans then and apparently he blamed ruckman John Barnes for all their woes because every time he got near the ball it was- ‘You poofter faggotter handbagger Barnsey!’ and that was the complete range of his barracking and vocab. Explained the wide berth around him and needless to say we couldn’t wait for qtr time to head off for a stiff drink and a change of seating.
Wouldn’t want those dirty uneducated working-class types and their vulgar language around our high-culture violent gambling rituals now would we?
Vulgarities are not (necessarily) examples of prejudice. I wasn’t even aware that “ape” was considered an offensive word. I’m not convinced in this case it was either.
I’m not sure I even understand your first paragraph desipis. At the time of that story I was attending a fairly working class school in a fairly working class area, if that’s what you meant? If it helps, I wasn’t shocked by the language, I was shocked by the source.
I’m pretty sure that ape is only ever used in common English in two ways: as a simile for monkeys, gorillas and anything that resembles them, and as a derogatory term for black people.
What kind of secluded enclave do you come from and how do the people there use the word ape?
I’ve often heard footballers in general referred to all manner of things including being referred to as “apes” or “neanderthals” on the basis of their stereotypical physical traits, low intellect and brutish conduct. In fact I dare say it’d be large hairy men in general, not just footballers who would get referred to as “apes” as an insult (whether good-natured or otherwise).
The same reasoning could be used to apply the term in a racist manner to imply black people are physically stronger but mentally weaker, or to imply they are uncivilised animals. I think that context and intent are really important and just because it’s can be used in a racist manner doesn’t mean it is being used in a racist manner in all cases. I’m unconvinced the term was racist in this particular context.
desipis,
You are perhaps misreading things rather badly. Perhaps you could argue that ‘ape’ could be applied to a white person. It could. But it’s a technicality. So on a technicality, if we were trying to convict the girl of something, we could, perhaps not do it beyond reasonable doubt.
But the overwhelming, at least the very high likelihood is that it was a racist comment – a particularly unpleasant one – even if the girl didn’t even know it. And it was as offensive as racist comments get – again, even if the girl in reaching for the word was just trying to say the nastiest thing she could. The whole business of just trying to say things to upset the opposition is pretty off, but yes, it’s effete to worry about it. But to take people back to school where they were taunted and treated like shit? Well as Goodes said – it hurt.
One thing that I admired him for actually was that it did hurt him. I think in his position I’d be frozen over – perhaps raging inside, but more likely just depressed – so that those comments couldn’t hurt me on a daily basis.
If you look at the video, I think perhaps Goodes was thinking “oh that thing again” got upset about it and then thought “no – I’ve promised myself I’m going to take that on – as a person and as a leader” and he did. And I couldn’t be prouder of him. These are great moments when something happens. Just like it did at Victoria Park all those years ago. Thrills me that while Pauline Hanson was trying to sell us her dismal breed of resentment – and it had a degree of legitimacy, just no heart or helpfulness about the our future – the AFL and Nicky Winmar had better things to do.
I’m not talking about beyond reasonable doubt. I’m talking about it being at least prima facie racist. A 13 year old girl is unlikely to be aware of the words used to racially denigrate a 33 year old back when he was in school, so it’s not appropriate to use that knowledge to interpret her words. Goodes, as a tall hairy man, does have physical traits (independent of race) that are analogous to that of an ape. Thus the term could have been referring to his physical traits as an individual/footballer rather than his physical traits as an aboriginal. The former to me to be the more obvious (absent any other contextual information) interpretation of the word, and I think it’s important to at least acknowledge the ambiguity of its use.
I don’t agree that the term can be reasonably assumed to be racist, certainly not to the extent that it justifies the actions taken against the girl. Consider how the girl feels after being singled out, kicked out of the stadium, shamed by the AFL and national media, and pressured into an apology. I think that’s grossly out of proportion to the conduct of the girl. I’m with observa in that I understand the actions of Goodes in the moment, but the actions that came afterwards, particularly the strong language used against the girl in the media were going overboard (e.g. “Racism has a face. It’s a 13-year-old girl.“) The way he’s stressed she should be ‘educated’ and ‘supported’ suggests to me he realises things had gone to far, and that there were more constructive ways of approaching the issue than scapegoating a 13 year old girl for the racial issues our society faces.
Patrick, we’ve got to stop agreeing like this. Heartfelt agreement too. It’s not right!
Hmmmm.. Smithfield eh? Where’s Demetriou and his Royal Commissioner schoolgirl lynch mob on this?
Just remember ya big apes how a fully grown Pommy nurse took the intense media spotlight after a wee slip of the tongue.
Sorry Nick ,
I am with Despisis here. Calling someone an ape has nothing to do with colour and I find it extraordinary anyone with intelligence could think that.
Going to a football match and yelling abuse at players has a long and dishonorable tradition right around the world.
Goodes is quite hairy and not a particularly attractive man so my wife tells me.
He will be called far worse things than an ape.
Tell him to get a thicker skin.
Tell the 13 year old to go to a decent football match
Tel Nicholas and friends to understand the english language and not be so politically correct!
So we now have Homer and desipis in furious agreement with Andrew Bolt whilst Nick and I watch on bemused.
Yes, it’s an odd day when I’m on the same side of an arugment as Bolt (or Catallaxy).
On the same side or just facing the same way?
I’d clarify but apparently I’m on the wrong side of the paywall.
No matter. I was just exploiting an obvious opportunity to plagiarise Terry Pratchett.
I just had a conversation with an old school mate and the term ape was a common expression of abuse at our school and we had no people who had ‘dark skin’ either.
Perhaps Fred gave you a childhood that was too protective?
Conrad you really need to get out more often
Conrad?
Conrad, Patrick they all look the same to me.
In all the time I have been refereeing I have only heard the tern used once where I gave the player in question a yellow card. no-one but no-one said he should have been shown the red card for racist abuse.
eek I am agreeing with Poor Old Rafe and disagreeing with the admirable Nick.
The world must be coming to an end!!
This comments thread makes me think of Tomkinson’s Schooldays for some reason.
wow it becomes even worse.
Nick is a fan of the Piano Man!!
I am.
Come off it, desipis, there is a long history of whites referring to black folk as monkeys and apes.
Unless the 13 yo girl has a history of calling white folk apes, I question her sincerity. Or at the very least, she has picked up the term subliminally.
I remember Indian cricket fans imitating apes to upset Richard Symonds a couple years back. That event was heavily reported.
And of course in European countries with strong proto-facist movements like Ukraine, fans are known to disparage black folk even if they play for their own team as apes because they want the team to maintain white racial purity. Dateline or Foreign Correspondent ran a report on this late last year.
Stories like this are commonplace.
You really are a sad liver-spotted old man, Obby. How about you tell us where your offspring work so we can harass them in their workplace.
Mel,
It might be different where you grew up but white children were regularly called apes where I was by other white children.
Patrick,
I really do not care who agrees with me. Andrew bolt Poor old Rafe or whoever.
Never have and never will.
That’s the point!
who in the hell is Terry Pratchett?
The author of this work previously plagiarised.
Homer, enough with the St. Olaf stories.
sorry Mel that has gone completely over my head.
Thanks Gummo