Eddie McGuire has come under fire for defending Sam Newman’s blackface stunt after footage of the incident was aired during the television premiere of a polarising documentary featuring Adam Goodes.
‘The Australian Dream’ features candid interviews with the AFL great, who turned his back on the game for good when he retired in 2015 in the wake of an ugly racism row and years of relentless booing.
The film, which aired on the ABC on Sunday night, includes an infamous clip from a 1999 episode of the AFL Footy Show showing Newman with his face painted black after St Kilda champion Nicky Winmar failed to turn up for a guest slot.
McGuire defended his long-time friend and colleague in the documentary.
‘He didn’t understand the nuance. He was a product of those times,’ he said.
‘He was a 60s 70s vaudevillian who was sending up Nicky Winmar because he didn’t turn up on the show that night.’
Eddie McGuire has been slammed for defending Sam Newman’s black-face stunt (pictured) on the AFL Footy Show during Adam Goodes new documentary
Goodes’ documentary The Australian Dream shows his rise from a talented schoolboy to a celebrated player before his career came to an end following racist taunts
Newman painted his face black to pose as Indigenus AFL star Nicky Winmar, who had failed to show for his scheduled appearance on the AFL Footy Show
McGuire’s comments sparked a social media firestorm, with some viewers criticising both he and Newman on Sunday night.
‘Sam Newman is disgusting, but Eddie McGuire is equally vile. Making excuses for his behaviour creates space for it to exist. Gutless to the end,’ on viewer said.
‘F*** off Eddie McGuire, making excuses for Sam Newman’s blackface. They all knew it was racist and did nothing in the moment to address it,’ another wrote.
A third said of the footage: ‘I can’t actually get passed Sam Newman and Eddie McGuire giggling like pathetic juveniles. Makes me sick.’
Some of the Tweets slamming McGuire and Newman for their racist actions and response
Goodes’ documentary shows his rise from a talented schoolboy to a celebrated player before his career came to an end following racist taunts.
In 2013, a 13-year-old Collingwood supporter called Goodes an ‘ape’ and she was removed from the stadium by security.
The incident sparked a national conversation about racism and plunged Goodes into a tumultuous final two years of his career, where he was relentlessly booed by crowds on the football field.
The booing took a toll on Goodes, whose football career came to an abrupt halt, retiring from the game in 2015.
‘It (the football field) actually became a place I hated to walk out on to,’ Goodes says in the film.
Both McGuire and Newman sparked controvery towards the end of Goodes’s career.
In the wake of the ‘ape incident, McGuire referenced Goodes as ‘King Kong’ while Newman claimed fans weren’t booing for being Aboriginal, but for ‘being a jerk’.
Goodes confirmed he spoke to McGuire about the documentaries as a chance for him to reflect on the way he handled the situation – saying he thought that was a missed opportunity for McGuire.
Goodes played for the club for 17 years before he was booed and heckled with racial slurs during games
Goodes said he approached McGuire in making the documentaries to give him a chance for him to reflect on the way he handled the situation
This is Goodes’ second film surrounding this subject matter, with earlier feature ‘The Final Quarter’ being released in September, where he was praised for his courage and leadership in spite of apprehensive crowds.
‘It’s fun, and a laugh for you, you can boo me and feel happy about yourself because you’re part of the crowd that did that. But deep down, there were people in that crowd booing me because of my Aboriginality,’ Goodes said.
Many have claimed Goodes wasn’t booed for his race, including controversial politician Mark Latham.
The One Nation member of the NSW Legislative Council posted two tweets on Sunday night following claiming that booing Goodes was not racially motivated.
‘It’s all blah, blah, blah, in the absence of any evidence whatsoever that the booing of Goodes was about his race,’ Latham tweeted.
‘Just because the elites, from the comfort of clink-clink corporate boxes, think footy fans in the outer are racist deplorables, does not make it true.
‘Fast Forward to 2045 at the ABC: ‘Today we are launching our 39th film on the Booing of Adam Goodes, who retired 30 years ago, sure, but this time we have really nailed it, showing the racism our 38 earlier films didn’t quite prove’. Always Biased C**p.’
Former Swans teammate and Goodes’ best friend Michael O’Loughlin said parts of Goodes’ film tipped him ‘over the edge’.
‘Listening to what Goodes’ mum, who was part of the Stolen Generation, had gone through was particularly hard,’ O’Laughlin said.
Former teammate Michael O’Laughlin, writer Stan Grant, Adam Goodes, and NBA star and executive producer Ben Simmons at the premier of The Australian Dream (pictured L-R)
Goodes and teammate Jarrad McVeigh leaving the field after winning the 2012 premiership
‘Then she had to watch her boy play a game of football, imagine walking into an arena with 50,000 people booing your son or daughter.
‘It’s a really hard thing to take.’
Stan Grant, the film’s writer, said that Aboriginal voices need to be listened to. He hopes the confronting subject matter of the film will start a conversation on constitutional recognition for indigenous people.
‘Australia needs to get past the idea that because you speak up and you speak against the idea of what other people may think Australia is, it doesn’t mean that you don’t also love your country and want the best for your country,’ Grant said.
Grant hopes the confronting film can be an inspiring tale for viewers.
‘It’s a very challenging thing. Ultimately, for me, it can be a story of redemption and it can be a story of hope.’
Goodes said the response to the documentaries has been positive with people coming up to him on the street and apologising for being part of the crowd that booed him.