Gary Ablett doesn’t deserve to be booed by the mob, writes Mark Robinson

No one really knows why Gary Ablett was jeered incessantly on Easter Monday but it would be shameful if he was booed out of the game like Adam Goodes, writes MARK ROBINSON.

Gary Ablett with Joel Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield after kicking a goal. Picture: AAP

Fingers crossed, Gary Ablett doesn’t get booed out of the game like Adam Goodes.

A day after the MCG echoed with booing every time Ablett touched the ball a potential hot-bed moment has arrived in football.

Goodes’ treatment by the mob was one of the game’s shameful periods.

Some say Hawthorn fans started it for his actions on the field.

But after being named Australian of the Year, it mushroomed into a cruel episode of mob mentality.

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He couldn’t be blamed if he left the sport a sad and disillusioned man.

There are fears the mob might be focusing on Ablett.

What if Ablett is booed every game he plays?

No one really knows why he was booed.

Was it because he’s a champion — a badge of honour and he has been booed before — or was there an added level of vitriol because of Ablett’s recent social media?

Hopefully, it’s because he’s a champ.

The fear is it’s because of he liked Israel Folau’s post about homosexuals going to hell.

The potential problem for all footy lovers is that the booing continues and the mob rises.

Ablett “liked” Folau’s tweet, then deleted it. In explaining why, he acknowledged how people could take offence.

“I want to make it clear that I love ALL people regardless of race, religion, gender or sexuality,’’ he said.

“I understand that liking this post appeared offensive and this is why I chose to remove my ‘like’ from the post.”

Gary Ablett takes a screamer on Monday at the MCG where he was jeered by fans. Picture: AFL Photos

The AFL’s response was cool and calm, probably because it is a complex issue.

They’d hoped the original story, written by colleague Sam Landsberger, would be glossed over, before addressing the matter a week later.

The AFL praised Ablett and Geelong for their handling of Monday’s booing.

“I thought for what it’s worth Gary handled it very well,’’ footy boss Steve Hocking said.

“He played exceptionally well and I thought post-match, the way he and the club handled it, was very professional.”

Asked whether he was fearful it would continue, Hocking said: “You wouldn’t want it to.”

Hocking said he had faith in football fans.

“They get it right most times.”

Did they get it right with Goodes?

“Absolutely not, definitely not, but I wouldn’t tie the Adam Goodes stuff into the Ablett stuff. It’s a very different situation,” Hocking said.

True, because at heart the issues are about race and religion, but it might not be a very different outcome.

At the MCG on Monday, Ablett was on the end of even more booing from Hawks fans than usual.

It’s crazy enough to wonder why he’s booed in the first place, let alone consider the craziness of this being a regular event because he dared to honour his Christian beliefs.

He made an error in people’s eyes, but across almost 20 years of AFL footballer, you could count on one finger how many public errors of judgment he has made.

He is LeBron James on that front. No scandals, no drugs, no horrifying headlines. Just exemplary sports person and role model.

Gary Ablett ignored the boos to star for the Cats on Easter Monday. Picture: Getty Images

We should celebrate Ablett.

His peers certainly do. Indeed, we should all take our cues from the respect players have for their opponents.

Instead, we have worrying situation on the horizon.

Many players are booed, many of them among the greats of game.

On an unsavoury night at Subiaco several years ago, it was Essendon’s Jobe Watson.

Geelong plays at home this week so the crowd will be civil. The week after, they play the Bombers at the MCG.

Bombers fans can well remember the Watson night and how sickened they were of it.

Don’t join the mob, guys, because Ablett doesn’t deserve it.