Adam Goodes shares abuse story at workplace safety conference
Adam Goodes spoke at Canberra's Comcare conference about years of racial abuse that led him to quit the AFL in 2015.
Adam Goodes, a two-time Brownlow Medal winner and 2014 Australian of the Year, addressed public servants at the Comcare workplace health and safety conference this week. Adam Goodes spoke candidly about the racial abuse that drove him from the AFL in his prime.
After a 13-year-old yelled a slur at him during an Indigenous round game in 2013, he was constantly booed and racially harassed at matches. Goodes said ninety-eight per cent of his playing life felt safe with teammates and his club, the Sydney Swans.
But game days became unbearable. He kept speaking out against racism, yet the abuse wore him down.
The AFL apologised to him in 2019 for failing to support him, but Goodes has not returned to the sport.
- 2-time winner
- Brownlow Medals
- 2014
- Australian of the Year
- 2015
- Quit AFL
- 98 per cent of playing life
- Felt safe at work
Why it mattersHis story shows how even elite athletes can be driven from their work by workplace abuse, and highlights the cost of inaction.
AustraliaGoodes is an Australian icon; his experience raises questions about racism in Australian sport and whether workplace protections go far enough.
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