tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/cathy-freeman-3514/articlesCathy Freeman – The Conversation2023-05-05T03:56:03Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2039562023-05-05T03:56:03Z2023-05-05T03:56:03ZWhat does it mean to play sport on First Nations land? Ellen van Neerven explores sovereignty and survival on the sporting field<blockquote>
<p>This is not a beautifully written book about decolonising Australian sport. This is an ugly book that was born of the ugly language I grew up hearing in this country. This book is me scratching my way out of the scrap of the schoolyard, just trying to stay alive.</p>
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<p>So writes Ellen van Neerven in the introduction to their latest book, <a href="https://www.uqp.com.au/books/personal-score-sport-culture-identity">Personal Score</a>. “I have a score to settle,” they continue.</p>
<p>In this book, they well and truly settle the score – as a Blackfulla, an athlete and as well as a former amateur player, a self-proclaimed “armchair enthusiast of the sport we call ‘the world game’: football, sometimes called soccer in this country”. </p>
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<p><em>Review: Personal Score: Sport, Culture, Identity – Ellen van Neerven (UQP)</em></p>
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<p>Weaving together race, Indigeneity, sports, sexuality, gender, class and Country, they offer something no sport historian has. </p>
<p>Ellen shows both another side of themself and a unique perspective of the sporting field, asking: “What does it mean to play sport on First Nations land?”</p>
<p>Perfect Score, through a mix of memoir and poetry, cleverly invites us to question what it means to play on a “Country that is rich in story”, on a playing field that is almost always uneven for Blackfullas. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524313/original/file-20230504-24-vyjjoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524313/original/file-20230504-24-vyjjoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524313/original/file-20230504-24-vyjjoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524313/original/file-20230504-24-vyjjoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524313/original/file-20230504-24-vyjjoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524313/original/file-20230504-24-vyjjoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524313/original/file-20230504-24-vyjjoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524313/original/file-20230504-24-vyjjoi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Ellen van Neerven says Personal Score is ‘me scratching my way out of the scrap of the schoolyard, just trying to stay alive’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anna Jacobson</span></span>
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<h2>Prominent and personal Black sporting moments</h2>
<p>The sporting field as a site has offered many iconic moments for mob, both in victory and as victims of racial violence visited upon us – from spectators, selectors, and sporting clubs and associations. </p>
<p>Many of us are familiar with Cathy Freeman’s gold-medal-winning lap of honour with the Aboriginal flag, or Donell Wallam’s match-winning goal on debut for the Diamonds. And with Aboriginal men’s innumerable, yet memorable, defiant stances against racism in both rugby league and Aussie rules. </p>
<p>Van Neerven doesn’t visit those familiar iconic moments. Instead, they take us into the private moments they’ve experienced as a soccer player and as a queer non-binary Blackfulla growing up in Brisbane. </p>
<p>Van Neerven reflects on the humiliating readings of their body, of being deemed too “masculine appearing”, of secondhand uniforms, and being ethnically othered. All the while, they reflect on their own relationship to the Country on which they were competing, in any given moment. </p>
<p>They reveal the intimate relationship our bodies have with Country, and the significance of sport as an expression of an embodied sovereignty.</p>
<p>Van Neerven takes us to the everydayness of the battlefield that is the sporting field: from the dressing sheds, to late-night training sessions, to their own backyard. And they share their innermost insecurities. </p>
<p>There’s an honesty, and an intimacy, to this text that I am not sure we deserve. </p>
<p>Van Neerven takes us to places I’m sure they’ve long held as memories, as trauma, as guilt and incongruities, as questions about themself. They share the concessions they’ve made, from shaving their body hair, to their silence on issues of Indigeneity. </p>
<p>But like the best Blackfulla texts, van Neerven reclaims their power through reclaiming their own narrative, much in the way Nicky Winmar did when he stood defiantly to claim, “I’m Black and I’m proud”. </p>
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<h2>Strategising survival on the sporting field</h2>
<p>Now, I don’t <em>get</em> soccer, nor do I understand the passion people have for it – but van Neerven makes me wish I did. In reading their story, I felt perhaps I had missed something in not loving the game like they do. The iconic soccer names and events were lost on me, but van Neerven’s clever use of sporting analogies to chart their personal journey of acceptance and defiance spoke so very clearly to me as a Black reader. </p>
<p>Van Neerven most powerfully demonstrates their skills – as a writer and soccer player – in the chapter titled “Skills”. They poetically step us through each technique, from controlling the ball with their chest, to chipping the keeper, to taking on a player using the famous “Cruyff turn” move. Each skill is juxtaposed with the parallel life lesson it taught them: binding their chest, chipping away at self doubt, and taking on the world. </p>
<p>The skill of heading the ball, as taught by their father through kicking “balls at my face until it gets dark” speaks clearly to the experience of Blackfullas – whatever their sporting code – as we experience the never-ending barrage of racial violence and indignities. </p>
<p>Van Neerven contrasts the technique of heading the ball with how to head a player. </p>
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<p>This is how you head a player …</p>
<p>If they slander your people</p>
<p>chin down</p>
<p>forehead first</p>
<p>all the power from your waist</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524314/original/file-20230504-28-20z53z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a soccer ball" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524314/original/file-20230504-28-20z53z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524314/original/file-20230504-28-20z53z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524314/original/file-20230504-28-20z53z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524314/original/file-20230504-28-20z53z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524314/original/file-20230504-28-20z53z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524314/original/file-20230504-28-20z53z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524314/original/file-20230504-28-20z53z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Van Neerven draws parallels between heading a soccer ball and the experience of Blackfullas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Carlos Felipe Ramirez/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Perfect Score offers something crucial to Black readers whose bodies have been misread in all kinds of violent ways: a space to exist, perfectly. And van Neerven honours Black theorising throughout the text, as they make sense of survival, sovereignty and sporting fields. </p>
<p>It’s not just the players Van Neerven is concerned with – they take us to the people who form the backbone of local sporting clubs, protecting them in the face of floods and fires. Like Sterling McQuire, a Darumbal and South Sea Islander man, former player and groundskeeper of Pilbeam Park, home to the Nerimbera Magpies Soccer Club in Rockhampton. </p>
<p>He states: </p>
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<p>here at Pilbeam Park – that might just be a little piece of ground but I’m looking after country […] Nerimbera, it’s a Darumbal name: I’m where I’m supposed to be. </p>
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<p>With Perfect Score, van Neerven reminds us that sport, for Blackfullas – pre- and post-1788 – has never been just for recreation. It is a calling, as McQuire so powerfully points out. A responsibility that compels us to compete on and care for our people and our land: a land that also tells an ugly story of fires, floods, and colonial violence. </p>
<p>Though van Neerven describes her book as “ugly”, their story isn’t an ugly one. It is a beautiful story of Blackfulla love – for sport, for Country. Most importantly, it’s a story of finding love for ourselves. </p>
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<p><em>Ellen van Neerven will appear <a href="https://mwf.com.au/program/ellen-van-neerven-personal-score-91ca/">Melbourne Writer’s Festival</a>, where they are curator of the <a href="https://mwf.com.au/program/mwf-big-debate-sport-vs-literature-eb14/">Big Debate: Sports vs Literature</a> on 6 May, and at <a href="https://bwf.org.au/artists/ellen-van-neerven">Brisbane Writers Festival</a> on 11 and 13 May.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203956/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chelsea Watego receives funding from the Australian Research Council and is a Director of the Institute for Collaborative Race Research and Inala Wangarra. Chelsea's great grandmother is author Ellen Van Neerven's great grandmother's sister. </span></em></p>Ellen van Neerven cleverly invites us to question what it means to play sport on a ‘Country that is rich in story’, on a playing field that’s almost always uneven for Blackfullas.Chelsea Watego, Professor of Indigenous Health; Executive Director, Carumba Institute, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1459262020-09-13T19:49:55Z2020-09-13T19:49:55ZThe Sydney Olympics: How did the ‘best games ever’ change Australia?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357610/original/file-20200911-20-c5ks1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C20%2C1991%2C1287&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dave Hunt/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On Tuesday, it will be 20 years since the Olympic opening ceremony in Sydney, kicking off the “<a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-olympic-games-15-top-moments-from-the/news-story/1d44b29863399f4c6af6a1c95c1e0057">best games ever</a>”. </p>
<p>Our newspapers and TV screens are now awash with nostalgia about <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/there-was-only-one-australian-who-wasn-t-sure-ian-thorpe-would-win-our-first-gold-in-sydney-20200910-p55u4p.html">great sporting moments</a> and the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/sydney-2000-olympics-opening-ceremony-20200806-h1ptv8.html">spectacle</a> and ceremony of the Olympics. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/freeman-review-documentary-relives-the-time-cathy-freeman-flew-carrying-the-weight-of-the-nation-145692">Freeman review: documentary relives the time Cathy Freeman flew, carrying the weight of the nation</a>
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<p>It was certainly a very big party. But with the hindsight of 20 years, other than creating a lot of classic sporting memories, did the Olympics change us? </p>
<h2>An ambivalent legacy</h2>
<p>There is considerable <a href="https://www.wallawallapress.com/olympic-costs.php">ambivalence</a> regarding Sydney 2000. </p>
<p>The economics of mega sports events are notoriously slippery and difficult to work out. </p>
<p>In 1993, KPMG estimated there would a more than $7 billion benefit to the national economy. But subsequent analyses produced other figures. A 1998 <a href="https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/113652/1/ERSA1998_498.pdf">estimate</a> by University of Tasmania and NSW Treasury economists suggested there would be only a 0.11% effect on GDP over the 12-year Olympic phase. </p>
<p>On other measures, the impact is also difficult to see. </p>
<p>The Olympics did not generate a sustained increase in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24831816/">sport participation</a> in Australia. And its legacy as a “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40573335">Green Games</a>” is debatable. </p>
<p>The main Olympic site did create usable space and parklands on what was a huge, derelict industrial site in Sydney’s west. The athlete’s village also became a <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/news/olympic-villages-past-and-present/">solar-powered suburb</a>. But two decades on, Sydney Olympic Park is still <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/how-olympic-park-became-trapped-between-sporting-legacy-and-reinvention-20200723-p55eti.html">searching for a soul</a> during the working week. </p>
<h2>A global Australia</h2>
<p>So, where did Sydney 2000 leave its biggest mark on 21st century Australia? </p>
<p>Australia had held the Olympics before Sydney, but Melbourne in 1956 was a very different affair. There were fewer than <a href="https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/tv-and-melbourne-olympics">100,000 television sets</a> in the country and no live international satellite transmission. </p>
<p>Sydney 2000 provided a striking opportunity for Australia to project a global image as a sophisticated, multicultural nation.</p>
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<img alt="Aerial shot of Sydney Olympic opening ceremony" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357609/original/file-20200911-22-1okglwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357609/original/file-20200911-22-1okglwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357609/original/file-20200911-22-1okglwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357609/original/file-20200911-22-1okglwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357609/original/file-20200911-22-1okglwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357609/original/file-20200911-22-1okglwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357609/original/file-20200911-22-1okglwd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Sydney 2000 put Australian on the world stage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Julian Smith/AAP</span></span>
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<p>Although Olympic <a href="http://210.74.184.3:8080/international/case/case/68.pdf">tourism promotion</a> relied heavily on Australia’s natural environment, its strategy made room for showing Australia as a highly urbanised, culturally diverse society. </p>
<p>Most importantly, Australia avoided the huge reputational hit of getting the games “wrong”. Only four years earlier, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics were <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/news/the-best-and-the-worst-of-the-olympics-ive-seen-it-all-7964064.html">widely criticised</a> for being poorly organised and over-commercialised. It also had to contend with a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jul/27/olympic-park-bombings-atlanta-1996-richard-jewell">domestic terrorist bombing</a>.</p>
<p>The Sydney games, supported by an <a href="https://maas.museum/inside-the-collection/2012/07/30/remembering-the-sydney-2000-olympic-games-volunteers-uniform/">army of volunteers</a>, generally went off without a hitch and received <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-spirit-of-sydney-olympics-lives-on-20100915-15b49.html">plenty of plaudits</a>. It generated <a href="https://stillmed.olympic.org/Documents/Reports/EN/en_report_274.pdf">goodwill</a> on which the city and country could trade, literally, in ensuing decades. </p>
<h2>Indigenous Australia</h2>
<p>In the lead up to the games, I was interviewed by a number of foreign journalists doing background stories. One topic dominated all others – the state of Indigenous relations in Australia. </p>
<p>Journalists were all too aware Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders had <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/aborigines-seek-olympics-boycott-1190052.html">mooted a boycott of the games</a>, perhaps supported by some <a href="https://www.sunypress.edu/p-3274-inside-the-olympic-industry.aspx">African nations</a>, due to Australia’s maltreatment of its Indigenous peoples.</p>
<p>A considerable effort was made by the Sydney Olympic organising committee to involve First Australians. As a result, one of the most powerful and enduring themes of the games was <a href="https://www.wallawallapress.com/olympic-reconcilliation.php">Indigenous Australia</a>. </p>
<p>It ran through the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1012690297032003001">Cultural Olympiad’s</a> Festival of the Dreaming, the Olympic Park’s Aboriginal <a href="https://www.sopa.nsw.gov.au/About-Us/History-and-Heritage/Indigenous-History/Aboriginal-Timeline">cultural pavilion</a> and the arrival of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/jun/09/2">Olympic torch at Uluru</a>. </p>
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<img alt="The Olympic torch is carried past Uluru" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357611/original/file-20200911-20-6nrehf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357611/original/file-20200911-20-6nrehf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357611/original/file-20200911-20-6nrehf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357611/original/file-20200911-20-6nrehf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357611/original/file-20200911-20-6nrehf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357611/original/file-20200911-20-6nrehf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357611/original/file-20200911-20-6nrehf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Olympic torch arrived at Uluru in June 2000.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Steve Holland/AP</span></span>
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<p>The opening ceremony featured multiple <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/from-the-archives-seven-secrets-of-the-opening-ceremony-20200805-p55ir1.html">Indigenous-themed segments</a>, while the closing ceremony showcased <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/overnights/overnights---olympic-games-closing-ceremony/7770022">Christine Anu’s performance</a> of “My Island Home”. In their performances, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-17/midnight-oil-olympics/8279108?nw=0">Midnight Oil</a> and <a href="https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/video/detail/savage-garden-affirmation-music-mondays/">Savage Garden </a> also wore “Sorry” and Indigenous flag clothing. </p>
<p>And most memorably, <a href="https://www.olympic.org/news/cathy-freeman-at-sydney-2000-moments-of-magic">Cathy Freeman</a> lit the Olympic cauldron and won the women’s 400 metres, bearing the sky high expectations of the nation as she ran. </p>
<p>In the era of Black Lives Matter, nobody could claim that Sydney 2000 had a transformative impact on Indigenous peoples’ futures. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-black-lives-matter-protests-must-continue-an-urgent-appeal-by-marcia-langton-143914">Why the Black Lives Matter protests must continue: an urgent appeal by Marcia Langton</a>
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<p>But its legacy - that any representation of Australia must always have a deep, serious Indigenous presence - should not be underestimated. </p>
<h2>Sporting Australia</h2>
<p>As the largest sporting event ever held in Australia, the Sydney games had <a href="https://www.wallawallapress.com/olympic-costs.php">a ripple effect</a> across the entire sport landscape in the country.</p>
<p>Its success signalled that Australia was capable of hosting mega sport events with efficiency and flair.</p>
<p>Sydney 2000 set the standard for several Australia-hosted major sport events to follow — the 2003 Rugby World Cup, 2006 and 2018 Commonwealth Games, <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-summer-of-sporting-events-has-it-been-worth-it-37477">2015 AFC Cup</a>, 2015 Cricket World Cup and 2020 Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A victory parade for the Australian team after the 2018 Commonwealth Games" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357614/original/file-20200911-18-1hrmp51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357614/original/file-20200911-18-1hrmp51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357614/original/file-20200911-18-1hrmp51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357614/original/file-20200911-18-1hrmp51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357614/original/file-20200911-18-1hrmp51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357614/original/file-20200911-18-1hrmp51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357614/original/file-20200911-18-1hrmp51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Australia has gone on to host a swathe of successful international sporting events post 2000.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Peled/AAP</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>It also gave confidence for the (<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-25/australia-world-cup-bid-never-had-a-chance2c-says-sepp-blatter/9360472">albeit unsuccessful</a>) bid for the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/world-cup-2023-will-be-a-massive-boost-for-womens-sport-but-does-it-make-financial-sense-140445">successful bid</a> for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. </p>
<p>The Olympics paved the way for successive Australian <a href="https://www.dfat.gov.au/people-to-people/sport/Pages/sports-diplomacy-2030">sports diplomacy strategies</a>. These include promoting Australia’s expertise in helping other countries host major events, not least their opening and closing ceremonies.</p>
<p>Importantly, Sydney also provided a very substantial boost to the <a href="https://www.wallawallapress.com/benchmark_paralympics.php">Paralympic Games</a>, a legacy of which the nation can be justly proud.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-brief-history-of-the-paralympic-games-from-post-wwii-rehabilitation-to-mega-sport-event-64809">A brief history of the Paralympic Games: from post-WWII rehabilitation to mega sport event</a>
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<p>Australia was already a renowned sporting nation before Sydney 2000. Afterwards, it could claim to be an <a href="https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/review-soft-power-boost-australia-s-appeal">influential player</a> in global sport. </p>
<h2>The lucky games</h2>
<p>The Sydney games were fortunate the <a href="https://theconversation.com/19-years-after-9-11-americans-continue-to-fear-foreign-extremists-and-underplay-the-dangers-of-domestic-terrorism-145914">9/11 bombers</a> did not make their move in New York precisely one year earlier, which would have meant disruption and possible cancellation. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Sail boats in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357658/original/file-20200911-22-1p80682.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357658/original/file-20200911-22-1p80682.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357658/original/file-20200911-22-1p80682.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357658/original/file-20200911-22-1p80682.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357658/original/file-20200911-22-1p80682.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357658/original/file-20200911-22-1p80682.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/357658/original/file-20200911-22-1p80682.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Sydney Games were lucky to have two weeks of good weather. And no catastrophes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dean Lewins/AAP</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Unlike the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/mar/24/tokyo-olympics-to-be-postponed-to-2021-due-to-coronavirus-pandemic">postponed Tokyo 2020</a> (and possibly cancelled) Tokyo 2021 Games, Sydney was also lucky not to coincide with a global pandemic.</p>
<p>Sydney 2000 shows that legacy is, finally, dependent as much on luck as good planning. But those 17 days in September linger as a significant moment in Australia’s sporting and social history, when the country was at the heart of the global village.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145926/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Rowe previously received relevant funding from the Australian Research Council for the projects Globalization and Local Impacts: The Media/Sport Production Complex in a Regional Context (with Geoffrey Lawrence and Deborah Stevenson) and A Nation of ‘Good Sports’? Cultural Citizenship and Sport in Contemporary Australia.</span></em></p>Sydney 2000 may not have seen a sustained increase in sport participation. But the Olympics did leave a mark on Australia.David Rowe, Emeritus Professor of Cultural Research, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1456922020-09-11T04:07:33Z2020-09-11T04:07:33ZFreeman review: documentary relives the time Cathy Freeman flew, carrying the weight of the nation<p>Where were you when Catherine Freeman won gold at the Sydney Olympic Games? </p>
<p>Director Laurence Billiet draws the memories of the nation together with sound and vision from the televised records, around Freeman’s own generous, lilting telling of this story. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.freemanthefilm.com/">Freeman</a>, Billiet returns us to the drama and theatre of the “moon that rises every four years”, the peak of every athlete’s dream, the greatest show on earth — the Olympic Games. </p>
<p>Two dramatic narratives arc through this documentary, which marks 20 years since the triumph: Freeman’s personal reflections as an elite athlete, and our experience as a nation of spectators.</p>
<h2>Timing the run</h2>
<p>By September 2000 — the year of the Sydney Olympic Games — Cathy Freeman had risen to be the 400 metres female world champion. For a country without a strong track and field history, the hosting of the Olympics on Freeman’s home soil aligned perfectly with her career peak and the wane of her role model and rival, Marie-José Pérec. </p>
<p>For a nation of thousands of generations, the last several in the company of outsiders, 49.11 seconds (Freeman’s time in the Olympic final) crystallised the hopes, dreams and heart of the combined citizenry for a future that embraced First Peoples. </p>
<p>Just months prior, hundreds of thousands of Australians made public show of our desire for a more reconciled nation. In late May 2000, a seemingly endless stream of men, women and children adorned in red, black and yellow surged into a bitterly cold Sydney winter’s day in <a href="https://www.reconciliation.org.au/sorry-day-bridge-walk/">splendid procession over the Harbour Bridge</a>, under the word “Sorry” scrawled across the bright blue sky. </p>
<p>Reckoning with the past treatment of Indigenous peoples and our relational places in the present had been a decade’s work for the Reconciliation Council, culminating in those bridge walks in cities and towns across the nation. The removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children was in sharp focus: the political class refusal of the call for a national apology an enduring disappointment </p>
<p>Debates over the nation’s history came to be crudely represented in <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3829922">binary accounts</a> of “white blindfold” versus “black arm band”. </p>
<p>For the artists curating the Olympics opening ceremony, the challenge of representing the newly appreciated antiquity, coloniality and modernity was at the cutting edge of reckoning with these debates. They projected to the world a successful — although fragile — ancient, settler and migrant great southern land. </p>
<p>In Freeman, Billiet collaborates with Bangarra Dance Theatre’s artistic director <a href="https://www.bangarra.com.au/about/person/stephen-page/">Stephen Page</a> to weave this forward, punctuating the film with distillations of ceremonial sound and movement.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sit-on-hands-or-take-a-stand-why-athletes-have-always-been-political-players-70397">Sit on hands or take a stand: why athletes have always been political players</a>
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<h2>Charming and disarming</h2>
<p>Amid highly contested debates and the uncomfortable (for some) reality of a white nation’s precarious assertions in an ancient landscape, rose a slightly built, gap-toothed, gifted and competitive Cathy Freeman. Immensely disarming and charming, graceful and gracious, she captivated the nation. </p>
<p>Billiet presents Freeman with floating projections that illustrate her memories. The collective experience is portrayed in sound clouds capturing journalists, politicians, agitators and community in chorus: “Cathy Freeman … Cathy Freeman …”, “we are …” we are …", “Wait a minute … she’s coming third …”. </p>
<p>These threads merge in the gut-wrenching moment when we wiped tears from our eyes, disentangled from shared embraces and came to realise the duality of that burden on Freeman. At just 1.63 metres tall she had just carried her own and the nation’s hopes and dreams over the finish line. </p>
<p>Talking us stride by stride through her race, she says she was in flight. With 80 metres to go Freeman says, “I felt protected”. Billiet switches sound from the roar of the crowd to women singing and a cloud of white ochre erupts to catalyse everything Freeman has expressed about her ancestral connections and our aspirations for nationhood.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rqio9yoaM6M?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">What a champion. What a relief.</span></figcaption>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/damien-hooper-the-aboriginal-flag-and-the-right-to-freedom-of-speech-8577">Damien Hooper, the Aboriginal flag and the right to freedom of speech</a>
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</em>
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<h2>Thrills and spills</h2>
<p>Freeman offers jewels of insight to her athleticism, explaining running as her “first ever greatest love”; races like a “first kiss”. From the age of five, running was “like flying’, like a "slip stream that leads you straight into heaven”. </p>
<p>Competitors, coaches and commentators enthused over her “beautiful movement” and “flowing free style”; so smooth, so natural. </p>
<p>Freeman was undefeated in the four years leading up to the 2000 Olympic Games. Her nemesis and inspiration, the magnificent competitor Marie-José Pérec, occupied a critical role, which is captured in the film. </p>
<p>Returning from injury to compete in Sydney, Perec was confronted by intense media scrutiny. On her sudden departure from the Games without competing, <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/perec-has-to-retire-as-injury-persists-1.1144088#:%7E:text=%22The%20400%20metres%20in%20Sydney,nation%20which%20had%20its%20problems.&text=Won%20Olympic%20titles%20over%20400,European%20400%20champion%20in%201994.">Perec noted</a> she was facing “not a race against Cathy Freeman, but a race against an entire nation”. </p>
<p>Freeman shares her disappointment she never had the chance to take on her rival, and that she could have run a sub 49 second time. But such was the tempo of the race, coupled with the sheer weight that she had borne for the nation since lighting the cauldron at the commencement of the Olympic Games. She was in constant company with “the beast” — as Freeman characterised the media scrum.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-being-a-sporting-role-model-isnt-as-simple-as-most-people-think-61979">Why being a sporting role model isn't as simple as most people think</a>
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</em>
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<p>The other thrilling element of the documentary is the generous view granted into Freeman’s family life. She credits her sister Anne Marie, who lived until 1990 with cerebral palsy, for life lessons in humility and acceptance. Billiet honours the gentle strength of her mum, Cynthia, and motivating support from stepfather and earliest coach <a href="https://www.couriermail.com.au/ipad/freeman-farewells-staunch-backer/news-story/2aab29496a064e8f03c749afd9c75054?sv=908aec5b15da134327f5507fc97f6458">Bruce Barber</a>, who she called “Blue Eyes”. </p>
<p>Of that Olympic moment, we gain profound insight into Freeman’s growing appreciation of her identity and conviction to be proud in a race that risked the nation’s heart. Robed in the Aboriginal and the Australian flag, Freeman found expression for herself, and for all of us. </p>
<p>To watch the film is to relive a moment when we held enormous optimism for our reconciled nation and of Freeman’s reckoning with her own identity: look at me; I’m black and I’m the best. No more shame. </p>
<p><em>FREEMAN screens on ABC television on Sunday, September 13 at 7.40pm and then on <a href="https://iview.abc.net.au/show/freeman">ABC iview</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145692/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heidi Norman receives funding from the Australian Research Council and NSW Government. Jennifer Newman contributed to the writing of this review. </span></em></p>Two dramatic narratives arc through this documentary that marks 20 years since Cathy Freeman’s Olympic triumph: her reflections as an elite athlete, and our experience as a nation of spectators.Heidi Norman, Professor, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/703972017-01-16T19:06:11Z2017-01-16T19:06:11ZSit on hands or take a stand: why athletes have always been political players<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152585/original/image-20170112-18325-plpjgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">NFL star Colin Kaepernick has declined to stand for the US national anthem.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Robert Hanashiro/Reuters</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is sometimes said that sport ought to be separate from politics, or that politics should be removed from sport. These sentiments are well meaning – if idealistic. </p>
<p>Sport is variously part of government policy, international relations, commercial interests, integrity issues, gender dynamics, and so on. Sport has never been, and never will be, a cocoon within which wider societal issues are unrelated. </p>
<p>All that said, there is <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/routledge-handbook-of-sport-and-politics/oclc/960040406&referer=brief_results">robust debate</a> about the nature and extent of political influence in sport, and the contributions of sport to social and political issues.</p>
<h2>Athlete voices</h2>
<p>The role of athletes is intriguing: as representatives of a sport or even a nation, they have substantial public profiles.</p>
<p>Athletes are well-known for on-field exploits, though much less so in terms of their off-field persona, about which the public rarely hears – unless media draws attention to an <a href="https://theconversation.com/athletes-of-influence-the-role-model-refrain-in-sport-52569">indiscretion</a>.</p>
<p>The off-field contributions of many athletes, such as by contributing to charities or virtuous social causes, are rarely the subject of media discussion. There is, nonetheless, much more public interest should an athlete present a dissenting perspective in respect of a sociopolitical issue via sport. </p>
<p>Negative refrains typically include: athletes should “stick to sport”; that they are “using sport” to advance a political agenda; and (like other celebrities) they are not credible advocates because they live in an elitist “bubble”.</p>
<h2>Perspectives past and present</h2>
<p>Timing and context are crucial. In 1968, the <a href="http://time.com/3880999/black-power-salute-tommie-smith-and-john-carlos-at-the-1968-olympics/">Black Power salute</a> at the Mexico City Olympics was widely <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/40675-iconic-olympic-moments-the-black-power-salute">reviled</a> in the US. During the 21st century that protest has, for the most part, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/us/29bcintel.html">been acclaimed as courageous</a>. </p>
<p>In 1964, Cassius Clay converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. In 1966, when drafted to serve in Vietnam, Ali was a conscientious objector – speaking openly against the war. Taken together, these decisions <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/06/muhammad-ali-vietnam/485717/">made Ali</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… a national pariah — perhaps the most hated man in the country. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Today, by contrast, Ali is very fondly remembered and widely admired for sticking to his <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/elan-divon/muhammad-ali-death_b_10319050.html">principles</a> and demonstrating <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevincashman/2016/06/06/the-four-greatest-leadership-lessons-from-the-greatest-muhammad-ali/#512323433943">leadership</a> for minority causes.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152586/original/image-20170112-18349-wcg4gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152586/original/image-20170112-18349-wcg4gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152586/original/image-20170112-18349-wcg4gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=609&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152586/original/image-20170112-18349-wcg4gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=609&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152586/original/image-20170112-18349-wcg4gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=609&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152586/original/image-20170112-18349-wcg4gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152586/original/image-20170112-18349-wcg4gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152586/original/image-20170112-18349-wcg4gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Muhammad Ali is today fondly remembered and widely admired for sticking to his principles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>In Australia, sport has also been a forum for robust debate about sociopolitical issues. In 1994, Cathy Freeman – both Australian and Aboriginal – carried the <a href="http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/blogs/on-this-day/2016/07/on-this-day-aboriginal-flag-first-flown">flags of those groups</a> during a <a href="https://www.sen.com.au/news/2016/10/09/gainsford-taylor-on-flag-criticism-it-was-ridiculous/">victory lap at the Commonwealth Games</a>. To some non-Indigenous critics, this suggested that Freeman was less than patriotic – to them there was only one flag, not two.</p>
<p>Fast forward to the Sydney 2000 Olympics: Freeman was anointed to <a href="http://australianpolitics.com/2000/09/15/cathy-freeman-lights-olympic-flame.html">light the cauldron</a> at an opening ceremony, where the symbolism of <a href="http://library.la84.org/OlympicInformationCenter/OlympicReview/2000/OREXXVI35/OREXXVI35e.pdf">reconciliation for all Australians</a> was manifest. </p>
<p>Freeman handled the pressure of the spotlight, going on to win gold in the 400m track event. She again carried the <a href="http://en.espn.co.uk/olympic-sports/sport/story/152105.html">two ensigns entwined during a victory lap</a>, despite the Aboriginal flag not being recognised by either the Australian or International Olympic committees. This time the officials looked the other way and there was no public hullabaloo.</p>
<h2>Geopolitics</h2>
<p>The Beijing 2008 Olympics played out amid a backdrop of international debate about the sovereign status of Tibet, which China was now claiming as its own territory. </p>
<p>In the lead-up to the Olympics, several athletes took a vocal public position against the colonisation of Tibet. Among them was Australian cyclist Cadel Evans. His personal website sold “Free Tibet” t-shirts, and he promoted the cause during the famous Tour de France. </p>
<p>At Beijing, Evans complied with the International Olympic Committee expectation that athletes <a href="http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/evans-arrives-in-beijing-but-gets-warning-over-tibet-protests-93792">do not engage in political matters</a>, but once his commitment was over Evans flew to Switzerland to meet with the <a href="http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=22476">exiled Tibetan Olympic team</a>. </p>
<p>The annexation of Tibet by China is now complete. Its spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, remains in exile, and is derided as a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/oct/19/dalai-lama-prayers-tibetans-terrorism">“terrorist”</a>. From a sport perspective, <a href="https://www.freetibet.org/news-media/na/olympic-story">athletes from Tibet</a> no longer represent that country. Tibetans are now Chinese.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152587/original/image-20170112-3967-5m0stp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152587/original/image-20170112-3967-5m0stp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152587/original/image-20170112-3967-5m0stp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152587/original/image-20170112-3967-5m0stp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152587/original/image-20170112-3967-5m0stp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152587/original/image-20170112-3967-5m0stp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152587/original/image-20170112-3967-5m0stp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Australian cyclist Cadel Evans took a vocal public position against the colonisation of Tibet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tracey Nearmy/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Change agents</h2>
<p>How sports respond to an athlete’s sociopolitical sensibility is key. </p>
<p>In 2012, when amateur AFL player <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-21/pride-game-can-be-life-changing-event-for-many-in-afl-community/7647390">Jason Ball</a> became the first footballer to come out as gay, he was roundly supported by teammates – and, after a concerted effort, won the support of leading professional players in a campaign to welcome LGBTI athletes to sport. </p>
<p>The AFL endorses an annual <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/afl/sydney-swans/afl-takes-huge-step-in-first-pride-game-between-sydney-and-st-kilda-20160812-gqrb9s.html">“Pride Game”</a> between Sydney and St Kilda, replete with goal umpires <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-09/afl-launches-first-pride-game-between-sydney-swans-and-st-kilda/7703642">waving rainbow flags</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152588/original/image-20170112-18318-h2ec25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152588/original/image-20170112-18318-h2ec25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/152588/original/image-20170112-18318-h2ec25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152588/original/image-20170112-18318-h2ec25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152588/original/image-20170112-18318-h2ec25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152588/original/image-20170112-18318-h2ec25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152588/original/image-20170112-18318-h2ec25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/152588/original/image-20170112-18318-h2ec25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australian rugby union player David Pocock.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dan Himbrechts/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Ball was given vocal support by Australian rugby player David Pocock, who said he and his female partner <a href="http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/pocock-palandri-to-seal-the-deal-when-same-sex-marriage-allowed-around-australia-20131025-2w5rw.html">would not marry</a> until their gay friends could do so. He was alluding to same-sex marriage not being legal in Australia. </p>
<p>One year later the marriage legislation had not changed, but the ARU was persuaded – in part because of Pocock’s advocacy – to produce an <a href="http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/wallabies-star-david-pocock-lauds-arus-inclusion-policy-which-will-aim-to-stamp-out-homophobia/news-story/27e8d7dcb575f8ee05743873bddc330b">“inclusion” policy for rugby</a> that focused on education against homophobia.</p>
<h2>Athlete protest: risk-reward</h2>
<p>How, why and when athletes take a stand on sociopolitical issues is a question of timing, context, purpose and strategy. </p>
<p>Sometimes, as with NFL star Colin Kaepernick, who has declined to stand for the national anthem because of what he sees as systemic racism in American society, there is substantial <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/08/colin-kaepernick-protest-nfl/498065/">public backlash</a> – even if his 49ers teammates are <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/colin-kaepernicks-teammates-give-him-an-award-for-courage/">not affronted</a> by his actions. </p>
<p>When NFL ratings fell this season, some suggested that Kaepernick’s politicising of the game had <a href="http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/209760366/colin-kaepernick-reason-nfl-ratings-down">prompted disaffection</a>. Only time will tell whether a kneeling protest will eventually be viewed more sympathetically: <a href="http://www.espn.com.au/olympics/story/_/id/17664885/olympic-sprinters-tommie-smith-john-carlos-support-colin-kaepernick-anthem-protests">John Carlos and Tommie Smith</a>, the villains-turned-heroes of the Black Power salute, hope so.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This is the first piece in a short series of articles on equality in, and access to, sport. Catch up on the others <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/sport-access-and-equality-34779">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70397/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daryl Adair does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When athletes take a stand on sociopolitical issues, they have a public profile by which to showcase their views. But they face criticism that it is not their ‘place’ to comment on sensitive matters.Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/619792016-08-17T05:03:50Z2016-08-17T05:03:50ZWhy being a sporting role model isn’t as simple as most people think<p><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-17/olympic-spirit-displayed-after-fall-on-track-in-rio/7749930">New reports</a> of Nikki Hamblin (New Zealand) stopping during the 5000m finals at the Rio Olympics to help fellow competitor Abbey D’Agostino (US) after they’d crashed on the track have evoked the “Olympic spirit”. The New Zealander also waited until D'Agostino, who was injured in the fall, could continue the race, sacrificing any chance of catching up to the main pack.</p>
<p>Hamblin’s actions are reminiscent of a small handful of other such moments at previous Olympics. Canadian sailor Lawrence Lemieux abandoned his silver medal position in the 1988 Seoul Olympics to rescue the crew of a capsized competing vessel. Lemieux missed out on a regular medal in the event, but was awarded the Pierre de Coubertin Medal for Sportsmanship by the International Olympic Committee president, who said his act embodied the Olympic ideal.</p>
<p>Athletes are increasingly expected to be good role models. But while Lemieux is outstanding, we don’t usually expect athletes to sacrifice their chance of winning to help others. In fact, the ideal of good sportsmanship carried to this extreme would be in tension with that other aim of Olympic competition – winning. </p>
<p>What, then, is the right balance between sportsmanship and coming out on top?</p>
<h2>The right stuff</h2>
<p>Discussion about athletes as role models often arises in response to bad behaviour. Recent on and off-court incidents involving tennis player Nick Kyrgios, for instance, prompted a public discussion about his <a href="https://theconversation.com/character-and-behaviour-off-the-field-should-not-be-selection-criteria-for-the-olympics-60520">suitability for Olympic selection</a>.</p>
<p>The contrasting cases of Lemieux and Kyrgios invite a distinction between two different meanings of role model. On the one hand, it picks out exceptional individuals such as Lemieux who exemplify qualities like sportsmanship. And, in a more mundane sense, it applies to anyone in the public eye. </p>
<p>All Olympic athletes are role models in the mundane sense. They represent their country, wearing its Olympic colours. Their performance is televised and commented on. Often, commentators also recount the athlete’s personal story to engage the audience watching their performance on television. </p>
<p>Given this, and since children are encouraged to follow and emulate their achievements, perhaps it is reasonable to expect that Olympic athletes meet a minimum standard of conduct. </p>
<p>Some minimum standards are already built into the rules of sport. An athlete such as Oscar Pistorius, who is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/06/oscar-pistorius-jailed-for-xx-years-reeva-steenkamp">serving time for murder</a>, for instance, cannot represent his country in the Olympics during his sentence. </p>
<p>Likewise, athletes who are involved in match-fixing or use performance-enhancing drugs are usually suspended. In extreme cases, unsporting behaviour can also be punished by disqualification. Several women’s badminton players <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/01/sports/la-sp-on-badminton-scandal-20120801">were disqualified</a> during the London 2012 Games, for instance, when they were found to be attempting to lose matches to secure easier finals.</p>
<h2>Increasing scrutiny</h2>
<p>But should we require more than this? Public scrutiny of athletes is increasing. This includes their political views, how they use their money and free time, and how they treat their partners and children. </p>
<p>Social media give us access to athletes’ personal lives and opinions. Improved microphones and cameras capture more of what happens on the field than ever.</p>
<p>One justification for this scrutiny is the influence of sports culture on wider society. When Kyrgios made a comment about opponent <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/aug/14/nick-kyrgios-apologises-stan-wawrinka-comment--atp-fine">Stan Wawrinka’s girlfriend</a>, it rang alarm bells for those worried about <a href="https://theconversation.com/playing-the-woman-healy-and-kyrgios-expose-sports-sexism-problem-46137">sexism in sport</a>. </p>
<p>Identifying his outburst as an instance of “<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3196589/Nick-Kyrgios-sledge-Stan-Wawrinka-puts-Thanasi-Kokkinakis-Donna-Vekic-spotlight-Australian-tennis-bad-boy-said-pair-slept-Vekic-started-dating-Wawrinka.html">slut shaming</a>”, mainstream media outlets drew attention to the way athletes’ behaviour can normalise sexist cultural practices. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, we are often blind to the social injustices around us. So while current sensitivity to sexism means Krygios’ comments to Wawrinka were widely condemned, in many cases it is those who draw attention to social problems who are criticised.</p>
<h2>Negative publicity</h2>
<p>In fact, some of the greatest role models in Olympic history were initially censured for their commitment to causes that were controversial at the time. </p>
<p>Tommy Smith and John Carlos’ <a href="http://time.com/3880999/black-power-salute-tommie-smith-and-john-carlos-at-the-1968-olympics/">black power salute</a> on the podium at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico is remembered by many as a defining moment in Olympic history. But, at the time, they were expelled from the Olympics and vilified at home. </p>
<p>More recently Australia’s beloved Indigenous runner, Cathy Freeman, was criticised for flying the Aboriginal flag at the 1994 <a href="http://nga.gov.au/federation/Detail.cfm?WorkID=27708">Commonwealth Games</a>. She was described as “un-Australian” and accused of politicising sport. </p>
<p>Six years later, the public felt differently. Freeman’s gold medal run in the 400m sprint at the Sydney 2000 Olympics was hailed as a moment of <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/athletics/15-years-ago-today-cathy-freeman-ran-her-way-into-the-nations-heart-20150925-gjuo2q.html">reconciliation</a> between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.</p>
<p>Out gay athletes such as 2008 diving <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/diving/a-perfect-10-as-mitcham-dives-for-gold/2008/08/23/1219262633209.html">gold medallist</a> Matthew Mitcham are widely hailed as role models for gay, lesbian and bisexual kids. In contrast, intersex athletes still face accusations of cheating and risk of <a href="https://oii.org.au/30507/special-rapporteur-fgm/">human rights violations</a>. </p>
<p>Polish sprinter Ewa Klobukowska, who was stripped of her 1964 Olympic medals due to a failed gender test, was listed recently as one of the Olympics’ <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/tarnished-gold-some-of-the-great-olympics-cheats-7869830.html">greatest cheats</a>. But she would not fail current testing criteria. In a different era, Klobukowska might be regarded as a role model and trailblazer for intersex rights.</p>
<p>This suggests that it’s very difficult to pin down which athletes are good role models. But to underline just how subjective it is, it is worth considering one final type of role model athlete: the redeemed sinner. </p>
<h2>When prodigals return</h2>
<p>Perhaps the best example at this Olympic Games is US swimmer Michael Phelps. He is almost as well known for his drink-driving arrests and recreational drug use as for his achievements in the pool. But in a recent <a href="http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/16425548/michael-phelps-prepares-life-2016-rio-olympics">feature article</a>, journalist Wayne Drehs argues that the swimmer has changed. </p>
<p>The new Phelps is presented as a self-aware teetotaller, rehabilitated from his addictions and reunited with his father. He sounds like the sort of person we would be happy for children to emulate. </p>
<p>But is Phelps a really a good role model, or has Drehs just spun a good story? </p>
<p>Given that there is no bright line between those who are good role models and those who are not, we need to be cautious about making rules for athletes’ conduct. Such rules are as likely to be used against the next Tommy Smith or John Carlos as Nick Kyrgios. </p>
<p>But what about the influence of athletes on kids? This is more of a problem if bad behaviour goes unremarked. Quality conversations at home and in the media about the things athletes do can help. This is perhaps most important when behaviour reflects social practices, such as how we treat women or those from different backgrounds.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61979/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katrina Hutchison does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Athletes are increasingly expected to be good role models. But we don’t usually expect them to sacrifice their chance of winning to help others.Katrina Hutchison, Postdoctoral research fellow, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/85772012-08-02T00:43:40Z2012-08-02T00:43:40ZDamien Hooper, the Aboriginal flag and the right to freedom of speech<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/13710/original/j2yfvxv2-1343798348.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Damien Hooper enters the ring wearing an Indigenous flag t shirt.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">SBS</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There are many people who would like us to believe that sport and politics should never mix. The reason for this is sport is seen as the pure and noble practice where champions arrive after hard work and application and chancers and cheats are found out. </p>
<p>Politics is seen as grubby and cynical, where body blows become part of the national discussion and big decisions come with small movements of the policy makers pen. </p>
<p>But sport and politics have always been entangled. To take one from the other would be like taking a mother out of motherhood. Impossible and implausible.</p>
<p>This is something Indigenous Australian boxer and Olympian Damien Hooper found out when he chose to wear an Indigenous flag t-shirt into the ring.</p>
<h2>The Cathy Freeman lesson</h2>
<p>Sport enables us to see the over-lapping themes of race and history. When Cathy Freeman cloaked herself in the Aboriginal flag at the 1994 Commonwealth Games it created a furore in the Australian media. Many commentators claimed that Freeman should have refrained, because Aboriginal Australia is not recognised as a self-governing nation. </p>
<p>As historian Colin Tatz put it, “Those who deplored her ‘un-Australian’ behaviour have no understanding of Aboriginal history.” </p>
<p>What he meant is that media commentators failed to acknowledge that no Indigenous Australian has ever formally signed an agreement that they have “given up” their land to anyone. </p>
<p>To put this another way, the [Mabo decision](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabo_v_Queensland_(No_2) in 1992 proves that Indigenous peoples and societies were here before 1788. For many non-indigenous Australians this is a concept that they do not or cannot acknowledge and so indifference becomes the way of handling (un)reality.</p>
<h2>Football and race</h2>
<p>In the late 1980s the West Coast Eagles came into the AFL, along with Indigenous players like Phil Narkle, Wally Matera and Chris Lewis. The “complexion” of the AFL really started to change. </p>
<p>This also brought more supporter hostility with it, culminating in the famous round four fixture between St Kilda and Collingwood in 1993 when Nicky Winmar raised his jumper to a hostile Collingwood football crowd. At the time, Winmar could not have conceived of what the outcome of his action would have been. For the broader community it began the process of sparking great debate about racism in football and society. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/13712/original/24n24tvk-1343799518.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/13712/original/24n24tvk-1343799518.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/13712/original/24n24tvk-1343799518.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/13712/original/24n24tvk-1343799518.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/13712/original/24n24tvk-1343799518.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1006&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/13712/original/24n24tvk-1343799518.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1006&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/13712/original/24n24tvk-1343799518.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1006&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nicky Winmar’s famous gesture to racist fans stands as a landmark in Australian sporting history.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">flickr/witness1</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Then Collingwood President Allan McAlister said at the time that Winmar and team mate Gilbert McAdam would be respected “as long as they conducted themselves like white people.” </p>
<p>The reason Winmar’s stance has transcended the realm of sport is the power of its message. “You cannot ignore me anymore”, it demands.</p>
<h2>Tennis, anyone?</h2>
<p>Evonne Goolagong, was perhaps the most internationally famous Indigenous sportsperson in Australia before Cathy Freeman. During the 1980 Wimbeldon tournament, a senior Australian politician at the time said he hoped she “wouldn’t go walkabout like some old boong”. </p>
<p>But she played tennis so well that people forgot her colour. Did this make her any less Indigenous? Of course not, it just added to the rich tapestry of the way we all engaged with and celebrated “our” diversity in sport.</p>
<h2>Vox nullius</h2>
<p>Which brings us to Indigenous Olmpian Damian Hooper and the issue of his t-shirt. The echoes of Cathy Freeman ghosted his actions. But they also are ghosted by the defiance of Dawn Frazer, Cassius Clay, Tommie Smith and John Carlos.</p>
<p>Why? Because all were fighting to speak out against oppression and a system that does not want to recognise them. In this way it is not just a case of <em>terra nullius</em> in Australia – a legacy we are still dealing with - but also <em>vox nullius</em> – no voice. </p>
<p>Don’t believe me? </p>
<p>If I said I have a world-class athlete who does not drink or smoke, is very religious, has a wife and family and works hard when he is not competing you would possibly reply positively. If I then said “Anthony Mundine”, many opinions would turn negative. I have done this test on many classes of mine and I have asked people why is this the case. The vast majority say because they hate what he says and what he thinks.</p>
<p>Fair enough. I too don’t agree with many things Mundine says but I will defend to the death his right to say it. I ask them about issues of free speech and agency. What they mean for different people and how much they are valued by us all. </p>
<p>The reason why people react negatively because their perspectives also come with a legacy: that being the notion that Indigenous people needing to know their place. To be seen and not heard. To speak when spoken to, to perform when the bell rings or the starters gun goes. </p>
<p>In the land of the fair go and being dinky-di, let us truly embrace what that means. Good luck Damien Hooper and bring back the gold.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/8577/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sean Gorman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There are many people who would like us to believe that sport and politics should never mix. The reason for this is sport is seen as the pure and noble practice where champions arrive after hard work and…Sean Gorman, Research Fellow, Centre for Aboriginal Studies, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.