- Goodes is named to the Football Hall of Fame
- The legend cut all ties with AFL after retiring in 2015
- Goodes was booed mercilessly in his final seasons
Sydney Swans legend Adam Goodes continues to shun the AFL spotlight and has turned down an offer to be inducted into the NSW Australian Football Hall of Fame.
The NSW Australian Football Hall of Fame unveiled its first roll call of inaugural inductees, headlined by fellow Swans icons Paul Kelly, Tony Lockett and Brett Kirk – but Goodes turned down the offer.
“Adam is a great champion and leader of our game who has had an immeasurable impact on Australian football in NSW,” an AFL NSW/ACT spokesperson said.
“AFL NSW/ACT has contacted Adam regarding the NSW Australian Football Hall of Fame and will respect his choice regarding his induction.”
Goodes, a double Brownlow Medalist, also turned down an offer to be inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 2021.
Goodes, who has shunned the AFL since his retirement, has turned down an offer to be inducted into the NSW Australian Football Hall of Fame
Goodes (pictured with wife Natalie) also declined an offer to be inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 2021
The code’s most decorated Indigenous player refused to have anything to do with the game after his retirement after being subjected to racist taunts and prolonged jeering from the crowd during his final three seasons – especially his final year.
Goodes was called a ‘monkey’ by a young Collingwood fan in an infamous 2013 incident.
Days later, then Magpies boss Eddie McGuire suggested that promoters of a King Kong musical in Melbourne ask the footy star to promote the show.
In 2015, he celebrated a goal against Carlton with an Indigenous-themed rallying cry, with spectators heavily attacking him.
That year he declined to take part in a grand final motorcade for retired players, and has since turned down invitations to AFL events – even turning down an invitation to be inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2021.
AFL president Richard Goyder acknowledged the AFL should have done better by Goodes after rejecting the 2021 invitation.
“Adam’s treatment in his final years at AFL level drove him from football,” Goyder said at the time.
“The AFL and our game at the time didn’t do enough to stand by him and call it out.
“The unconditional apology the game earned him in 2019 was overdue, but on behalf of our committee and the AFL, I once again apologize unreservedly for our failures during this period.
The two-time Brownlow Medal winner briefly ended his self-imposed exile from the AFL in 2022 to attend the Swans’ 10-year premiership reunion at the SCG (pictured)
Goodes (pictured celebrating the 2012 Sydney Grand Final) was called a ‘monkey’ by a young Collingwood fan in 2013 and was heavily booed in his final three seasons in the competition
“The failure to challenge racism and stand up for Adam has failed all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players past and present.
“We hope that there will come a time in the future when Adam will want to be connected to the game again.”
Goodes returned to the SCG in May 2022 for the Swans’ 10-year premiership reunion, completing a lap of the ground at half-time in the Swans’ match with the Gold Coast.
He looked happy as he greeted fans with his former teammates and stood in a guard of honor as the current Swans players ran onto the ground for the start of the match.