#15 Josh Green - delisted

Sorry but he didn’t just retire, he was told his time was up and given the cleaner exit option — that is, we will say you retired but really you’re gone anyway. Bullying may be part of the reason but it doesn’t mask the fact he was a ■■■■, selfish footballer.

He left Art Garfunkel…

unbelievable what some people like to write

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There wouldn’t have been booing.

It would have been the Sounds of Silence.

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Of course it was. That’s why other players who did similar things to the same frequency were also treated the same way. Oh, hang on a second…

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Agree with you 100%.

The Goodes situation clearly wasn’t an either/or one, no matter how the media tried to present it.
There were stages and levels to the booing, and a hell of a lot of grey in between them.

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Did you really make this post, on this topic, unironically?

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IMO, Goodes was booed initially because of the way he carried on, on the field as a footballer.
The booing wasn’t that widespread, but took root with supporters who shared the sentiment about his favourable treatment from umpires.
He then played the race card (or, if you like, interpreted the booing as a racial issue).
It then became a race issue, and the booing intensified, in all probability because people with racist motives joined in.

PS and his war dance to the crowd inflamed it further, provoking a response from those who saw it as the opposite of promoting racial tolerance and harmony.

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i look back and think you could write a book on it called “how NOT to handle a Public Relations issue”.

i like Adam Goodes as a player and its a shame that his name only gets brought up when a “booing” discussion occurs these days.

the real kicker i think was when Gil said “if you boo, you’re a racist”, and the entire AFL community basically told Gil to get stuffed. it just grew more legs on the issue

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Heather Mills excepted

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Yes, there is an element to this. The defiant Boo’er. The Anarchist.
There are many shades to that particular phenomenon.

I felt through that whole Goodes saga that we were not mature enough as a nation to discuss the situation with the nuance required. I admired Goodes’s footballer talent but never liked him much. People booed him for a bunch of reasons, including (i) the fact that he flattened Monfries (Bomber fans only), (ii) the fact that he had won Australian of the Year or some such award, (iii) the fact that he occasionally staged for frees, (iv) the fact that he publicly took a young girl to task over the “gorilla” comment, (v) the fact that some saw him as an “uppity” aboriginal, (vi) the fact that he did a couple of war dances directed at the crowd rather than the opposition players (as a haka might be directed).

I never liked people booing him because booing is such a dumb response. Actually, I was ok with him being booed after flattening Monfries because it was clear at that time why he was being booed. Pretty much any other time he was booed, you can take your pick from (i) through (vi) above. As Stan Grant said, an aboriginal growing up in the 1970s/1980s in Australia got very used to being abused, so it’d be natural for him to assume the booing was race-related even if it wasn’t. And to me this last point is the key - it’s not what you intended with your booing that’s important, but how it was received.

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There’s a lot of posters on this site who need to carefully read that article and listen to the podcast where Green was discussing these issues and then have a good hard look at the things they say online

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I often say some shabby things, but I admit to sometimes being a dikkhead. But your comment is not only very shabby but very wrong.

Green was coached and instructed to play like he did. His job was to kick goal, and just like Betts, Milne and every other little bloke who plays on the forward line, they only survive if they kick goals.

Ironically Walla can play a blinder in terms of pressure, tackling and causing turnovers, but he only gets votes for a bag of goals.

It’s slow, but even in here I’ve noticed things changing for the better.

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Really? I’ve been on this site for over a decade and I feel like it’s been at its worst in the last few years. Although part of that might be that there are a lot more posters nowadays

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I do agree in some ways but we are all 100% footy tragics, and unprofessionals, on a internet forum dedicated to the club we all support. Its not exactly a place where you’ll get measured, composed opinions.

My point is, garbage will always be posted. Supporters are always gonna call players duds, no good, rubbish etc. As long as its not violent, degrading (ie farkkk him, peice of sh*t) etc, then most of the time, most people are above board on what they post. There are exceptions of course, but if i was a afl footballer, i certainly wouldnt read club supporter forums

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There are a number of die-hard wannabe cowboys, a few with multiple accounts, but also a lot of posters thinking a bit more carefully than they used to before typing. It’s a slow process. The steep increase was due to the saga and subsequent repercussions, but there are heartening signs I reckon. Maybe I’m just a fool optimist.

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