A.F.L. Thread II

[Jono]

How are Sheedy's comments about western Sydney being perceived in Melbourne? Is there much coverage of them down there, or has Demetriou done his usual smother?

Made the Herald Sun:

Cookies must be enabled | Herald Sun

I didn't get to listen to SEN radio this morning but I have no doubt it would have been discussed.

Richard Hinds writes a sensible article on Sheedy's comments and the reaction to them:

Missionary Sheedy deserves to be judged by his actions

Anyone calling Sheedy a racist is a flog to be honest. He has done so much for indigenous people its annoying that he is even copping such criticism. His comments were stupid and clumsy. Not racist.

 

[Ausage]

It's stupid how regularly the AFL talks about race when referring to Sydney's west though. You don't hear the Bulldogs talking about how they're a club for arabs or Parra are a club for Indians. For a club supposedly full of immigrant supporters, WSW don't attempt to target specific ethnic groups. Part of the reason the old NSL was disbanded was due to clubs with overt nationalistic identities. Yet from the AFL we get comments like "land of the falafel" and constant talk about all the migrant populations in the region.

It's just indicative of a code with absolutely no connection to a region, desperately searching for one.

Sheedy's an absolute idiot. Some of the things he says are so incredibly stupid you'd swear he was taking the piss.

 

[Jono]

Sheedy's an absolute idiot. Some of the things he says are so incredibly stupid you'd swear he was taking the piss.

He often is taking the piss to be fair.

But he's no idiot. One of the best marketers in Australian sport - see Anzac Day and Dreamtime at the G.

He's also done more for the connect between Australian sport and indigenous Australians than almost anyone else in this country.

 

[Jono]

Also don't forget it was Sheedy who was the one who did not like the "falafel town" comment from Eddie McGuire. He was the one defending Western Sydney.

 

[Ausage]

Also don't forget it was Sheedy who was the one who did not like the "falafel town" comment from Eddie McGuire. He was the one defending Western Sydney.

So why make a comment with pretty much the exact same motivation? McGuire was commenting on the racial diversity of the region in an inappropriate way. Sheedy's done the exact same thing.

The guy is a thought bubble merchant. Sometimes some good ideas come out (Anzac Day, Dreamtime) but much more often its senile waffle (third Sydney club, battle for the bridge, bigger than origin).

 

[Jono]

So why make a comment with pretty much the exact same motivation? McGuire was commenting on the racial diversity of the region in an inappropriate way. Sheedy's done the exact same thing.

Because he said something incredibly stupid and is under pressure considering the Wanderers success and GWS ****house crowds. It happens. He's not a racist and doesn't have an obsession with the ethnicity of Western Sydney.

He does say stupid **** a lot of the time, but its mostly to get attention for his cause. He doesn't honestly believe that Sydney needs a third team. He's just trying to get GWS/AFL media attention in Sydney, that's all. Take Sheeds for what he is.

Anzac Day is a massive success by the way. Name an idea even remotely as successful by someone in Australian sport in the last 20 years - I can't. If he does nothing right for the rest of his career he'll always be able to have that.

In any case, my main point is Sheedy is so far from a racist its not funny. He's pretty much the exact opposite.

 

[Ausage]

Because he said something incredibly stupid and is under pressure considering the Wanderers success and GWS ****house crowds. It happens. He's not a racist and doesn't have an obsession with the ethnicity of Western Sydney.

Who cares what pressure he's under? In public life you're expected to be able to front up after a **** day at the office and not say something stupid.

There's been loads of comments made about race by AFL folk. For example talking about targeting migrant communities in western Sydney that don't follow any particular sport (though now apparently they all follow soccer). I don't know if you'd call that racism as it's not particularly offensive, but the fact is no other sport in the region views things in such prisms.

Anzac Day was definitely a good idea now adopted by both codes.

 

[Jono]

Sheedy, you're a disgrace : Craig Foster : The World Game on SBS

Kevin Sheedy’s comments are a disgrace to this country, a throwback to the dark old days of anti-immigration and the ‘sheilas, wogs and poofters’ mentality that football fought against for so long.

Good to see Craig Foster isn't overreacting or anything.

 

[uvelocity]

yeah cause soccer players dont ever overreact

 

[uvelocity]

 

[Jono]

Soccer also doesn't have a history of racism or anything.

 

[Ausage]

Sheedy, you're a disgrace : Craig Foster : The World Game on SBS

Kevin Sheedy’s comments are a disgrace to this country, a throwback to the dark old days of anti-immigration and the ‘sheilas, wogs and poofters’ mentality that football fought against for so long.

Good to see Craig Foster isn't overreacting or anything.

I explained to the crowd what football is. That it is multicultural, representing the people of the world, the common language of life and a connecting force globally. I talked about how those new arrivals to Australia bring the ball in their heart and are welcomed by our community.

"Yeah, sure, the ‘boat people’, that’s your sport," Sheedy responded.

It's ok though, he's done heaps for the indigenous

That said, Foster's a massive gumby who gets absolutely rock hard for a code war.

 

[Ausage]

Soccer also doesn't have a history of racism or anything.

Except the sport actually dealt with it incredibly harshly. Disbanding a national competition and rebuilding from the ground up to disassociate itself from its past.

 

[uvelocity]

check out the soccer lover

 

[Ausage]

check out the soccer lover

How's last place treating you?

 

[uvelocity]

combined with lack of sleep and my drinking problem, rather cranky tbh

 

[Jono]

It's ok though, he's done heaps for the indigenous

That said, Foster's a massive gumby who gets absolutely rock hard for a code war.

See this is the problem. No one is saying "Its ok". What he said was absolutely dumb. But its like a person who works and cares for mentally ill people for much of his career, and then drops the '******' word in a conversation. He said something he shouldn't have, but you'd hardly say he is someone who disrespects the mentally ill would you?

Sheedy has done so so much to further improve race relations in this country. He's ****ed up once (and if Foster's story is true - twice) by making stupid statements. But let's not brand him a racist.

As someone who isn't white and whose parents were not born here, I can understand why people are pissed off with what Sheedy said. But I think it is incredibly **** to trivialise the phrase "racist" by calling Sheedy one. Then when you actually have to rightfully call someone a racist or xenophobic the word loses all meaning.

The comments on Sheedy were already over the top. Foster's article just makes it ridiculous.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Sheedy's being caught out in a media environment that won't fawn all over him, like they did for years in Melbourne.

 

[Jono]

Good point vic. He's getting the Eddie experience! Chewed up and spat out by the Sydney media who don't care what he's done in the past. What have you done for me right now?

Interesting to see how he handles it, because Eddie handled it poorly.

 

[Ausage]

See this is the problem. No one is saying "Its ok". What he said was absolutely dumb. But its like a person who works and cares for mentally ill people for much of his career, and then drops the '******' word in a conversation. He said something he shouldn't have, but you'd hardly say he is someone who disrespects the mentally ill would you?

You'd say he's someone who disrespected the mentally ill. In my experience people who work with the mentally ill are the most sensitive to the word.

You start to get into grey areas when you excuse bad deeds on the basis of past good deeds. How much good to you have to do to excuse yourself from any given bad deed? What will one "N" word cost me? How about a public display of blackface.

Praise the good, call out the bad.

Further to Vic's point, why should anyone in this city know anything about Sheedy? Most people don't know who he is, so when he makes a comment like this no one thinks about dreamtime at the G, they just think he's a decrepit, senile, racist.