Two of Australia’s leading Indigenous musicians, hip-hop stars Briggs and Jimblah, have issued heartfelt defences of beleaguered Sydney Swans player Adam Goodes, weighing in on the controversy currently surrounding the AFL star.
The two-time Brownlow medalist was recently granted indefinite leave from the Swans and is reportedly considering retirement after being dogged by months of relentless abuse and booing from fans, as debate rages about whether the Goodes hate is motivated by racism.
“Adam Goodes is Rosa Parks and Australia is that bus,” Jimblah now writes on Facebook. As far as the Broome emcee is concerned, the Goodes situation is merely a symptom of wider racial issued that continue to pervade Australian society.
“This is not about how many Australians are actually racist, it’s the fact that this country was founded on the notion that White ideologies are far superior than that of our Indigenous culture here in this country,” he writes.
“So everything here from the ground on up has racist undertones that keep this whole shady operation in full effect… This is not so much about the character of Adam Goodes, but rather the fact that he has the courage to take a stand where Australia expects him to shut the fuck up and sit.”
It's 2015, Adam Goodes is Rosa Parks and Australia is that bus.This whole ordeal is sad as fuck. You wonder how so…
Posted by Jimblah onWednesday, July 29, 2015
Meanwhile, in an op-ed for the Sydney Morning Herald, Shepparton rapper Briggs asks “How does a four-time All Australian consider hanging up the boots not on his own terms? I’m now asking myself this question in disbelief.”
In a column titled Adam Goodes Deserves Far Better Than This, Briggs goes on to elaborate on how the Goodes situation affects all Indigenous Australians and how it’s inaccurate to say booing Goodes isn’t racist just because he is the only victim.
“But every Indigenous player on the field is feeling those jibes,” Briggs writes. “Every player who identifies with Goodes and who calls him a teammate and friend feels those jibes.”
“Every fan who’s made a banner for Goodesy to run through, every member of the Black Swans supporter group. The kid with “37” on his back, and the mother with the Adam Goodes’ badge on her scarf – they all feel those jibes. I feel those jibes.”
“Perhaps there’s a misunderstanding here: racism is not the paint peeling on the house. Racism is the termite that eats at the foundation. Racism is not name-calling. Racism is a systematic ideology that is designed to oppress and dehumanise a person,” Briggs adds.
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“A year of heckling and racial taunts can make a four-time All Australian question his future in the game he mastered. You can hate the Sydney Swans, because a Swan can take his jumper off. But Adam Goodes is Adam Goodes every day of the week.”
“He doesn’t take his heritage off. He wakes up black, he goes to sleep black. When he wins he’s black, when he loses he’s black. And when they boo him, it’s because he’s black. And I can identify with that.”
“Goodes won’t play this weekend. He’s worn the brunt of this and it warrants a break. But I implore all players of all codes and all divisions to take a leaf from the book of a champion. Stand up for Goodes, as he stood up for us.”
“That way, my nephews will want to be the next Adam Goodes. Not because he’s the best, but because he’s the greatest. The boos might echo now. But his legacy will echo forever.”
