06-09-2021, 01:48 AM
(06-09-2021, 01:39 AM)LP link Wrote:Yes, I agree with most perspectives on this issue, but I find it hard to detangle the motives. It's clearly not true all those booing are racist, and it's clearly not true that all those booing aren't racist. It's clear Goodes is correct about racism, but it's clear Goodes is incorrect about the root cause of all the booing.
If Adam hadn't slid studs up into opponents, if he hadn't thrown himself on the ground free of any physical contact, if he hadn't directly denied doing those things to camera despite the obvious footage, would the situation have become as bad as it did?
I've heard it asserted Goodes used those "obvious denials" purely as a bait to flush out racism, but I think that is a revisionist claim that surfaced long after the other initial aspects of this debate.
I think Goodes has paid a heavy price for taking a stand on this issue, which is pretty much always the case when one person takes on deeply entrenched behaviours. I have no doubt he was deeply hurt and upset by these incidents, and if he was in it for himself I'm sure he would have accepted all the accolades that have come his way, rather than turning them down. Whether somewhere along the line he saw an opportunity to start a conversation about racism, and make it more than just about him, I guess we may never know.