Indigenous Sports Month: Ash Gardner on Cathy Freeman and pioneers

The simple image of Cathy Freeman draped in an Aboriginal flag draped caused a remarkable backlash in the 1990s - a reaction that spurred Ash Gardner to want to change people’s opinions.

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That simple image of Cathy Freeman running around the track draped in an Aboriginal flag has had a profound impact on the person I want to be.

I watched Cathy’s documentary a couple of years ago and the uproar caused by her wearing the Aboriginal flag after her races angered me. It is one thing that has really spurred me on to want to change people’s opinions and use my platform as an Indigenous athlete to be a role model and a voice.

I’m sure I can speak on behalf of a lot of people in saying that the Aboriginal flag is a huge symbol for our culture.

Ash Gardner has become one of Australia’s top cricketers and indigenous sport voices.

For people to essentially try to tear someone down when all they’re trying to do is represent themselves and their people on a world scale annoyed me, and now I ask myself the question – how can I use my voice to help educate people to understand things from a different point of view?

If I think back to my childhood, I didn’t know of a lot of Aboriginal athletes to look up to, but as I’ve got older, Cathy and Aunty Faith Thomas – the first Indigenous woman to represent Australia in any sport let alone cricket – are two amazing pioneers who have really inspired me.

Cathy Freeman draped in the Australian and Aboriginal flags after her win in the Sydney Olympics.

In my teenage years, as I was starting to make my way in cricket, I took the opportunity to learn more about profound Aboriginal athletes who have inspired people by not only paving their own way, but also paving a path for other Aboriginal athletes to follow in their footsteps.

Celebrating those stories has never been more important.

It’s sad to me that Aunty Faith’s story has not been told as much as it should be.

She was such a funny lady and would tell these incredible stories about growing up throwing rocks at targets in the bush, and that’s how she mastered her great aim.

To break through and play for Australia back in 1958 is an inspiring story and it’s disappointing her pioneering efforts aren’t better known.

When she passed away recently aged 90, I uploaded a photo of me with Aunty Faith that was taken just before my debut for Australia.

It’s such a special picture to me because I was so nervous at the time knowing I was only the second Aboriginal woman to play for Australia. We were able to share a connection that has helped me in my career. She was an incredible woman.

I came out with a statement earlier this year, expressing my thoughts as an Aboriginal woman, about January 26 and why it is a day of mourning for our people.

I knew there was going to be some backlash and people were going to have comments and opinions, but I didn’t actually understand the severity of hate that exists over these issues.

It was quite a challenging couple of days, and you say you don’t want to look at the comments on social media, but naturally you want to see what people are saying about you – and that was pretty tough.

Ash Gardner says she was surprised by the backlash she received for her views on Australia Day.

When people would check in with me, that would make me more emotional.

But for me it was important to have my say.

It was about voicing my view and my discomfort around us as an Australian women’s team playing on that day.

Knowing that it is creating some sort of conversation, which is ultimately what us as First Nations People want to do, is something we need to do more as a country.

It seems as a country we don’t like it when a minority has a voice and wants to use that voice – which is disappointing because for a country that is so on track in a lot of social areas, there are others where we are lacking.

We need to give people an opportunity to further educate themselves and hopefully that leads to a greater level of understanding for future generations.

It’s disappointing and frustrating to see the spate of AFL and NRL players who are subjected to racial abuse at matches and on social media.

I don’t know what the answer is because it’s something that keeps happening – and even though clubs come out with statements condemning racism, nothing is changing.

But it’s why I believe it’s even more important that we do celebrate the achievements of our Indigenous greats and not get bogged down in the negativity.

If I could offer advice to young Indigenous athletes it would be to make sure you enjoy what you do.

In sport you can have your dark days, but the more you can just enjoy the moment and try not to reflect on the negatives is super important.

Also, believe that you can achieve your dream. Be inspired by Cathy Freeman, Aunty Faith Thomas, and all our Indigenous sports stars, that great things are possible.

ASH GARDNER has played three Tests, 52 one-day internationals and 73 T20 internationals for Australia.

Originally published as Indigenous Sports Month: Ash Gardner on Cathy Freeman and pioneers