The Australian Aboriginal flag will be a conspicuous absentee from next weekend’s Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round.
In recent years, including last year, the flag has been painted onto the centre circles in games during the Indigenous round, which was re-named ahead of the 2016 season in honour of the late Sir Douglas Nicholls, Aboriginal football pioneer and former South Australian Governor.
Collingwood and Brisbane playing on top of the Aboriginal flag in 2017.Credit: Michael Dodge/Getty Images
However the AFL confirmed on Sunday that the famous red, yellow and black flag would not feature on the ground this year. Instead, the word “Deadly” will be painted onto the centre circle. “Deadly” is a word commonly used in Aboriginal English to mean very good or great and is being used heavily in the AFL’s promotion of the round, which was rescheduled following COVID-19.
The name of the local Indigenous population will also be written on the ground as the AFL seeks to celebrate the contribution of Indigenous people to Australian football. For example the word “Larrakia” will be painted on the field in Darwin for the Gold Coast-Carlton and Essendon-Richmond matches, held on Friday night and Saturday night respectively. The Larrakia people are the native Indigenous population in and around Darwin.
The Torres Strait Islander flag will be painted on the 50-metre arcs, as has occurred in previous years. But the Aboriginal flag will be missing.
Sources close to the situation indicated the decision to remove the flag from this year’s round was related to the “exclusive copyright license” held over the flag by WAM Clothing, which is detailed on the company’s website.
Lance Franklin of the Swans during the 2016 Indigenous round.Credit: Michael Willson/AFL Media
WAM have issued cease and desist letters to Indigenous groups seeking to sell products featuring the flag. WAM’s copyright stems from an agreement with the flag's creator, Aboriginal artist Harold Thomas.
Sydney Swans superstar Lance “Buddy” Franklin earlier this year stopped dealing with WAM after being heavily criticised by members of the Indigenous community including Olympic gold medallist Nova Peris.
WAM owner Semele Moore, who along with co-founder Ben Wooster is not Indigenous, responded to questions on usage rights.
“As with the Indigenous round for 2019, we gave permission to the AFL for the Indigenous players to wear their guernseys on the field with the flag, and there was no issue there whatsoever, and that same permission would have been offered this year as well," Moore said.
“If they want to go sell those to the public, that’s when there would have been fees payable."
Clubs will again wear Indigenous-themed jumpers, as has been a feature of the round for the best part of a decade.
The round begins with the Suns-Blues match at TIO Stadium, with matches also being held in Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
The signature event will Saturday night's Bombers-Tigers Dreamtime game, relocated to the Northern Territory which has produced several Indigenous football greats including Essendon champion Michael Long and late Richmond star Maurice Rioli.
Issued a cease and desist letter last year by WAM after using the flag on her products for her business Clothing the Gap, Gunditjmara woman Laura Thompson said she was heartbroken by the situation.
"I love the flag so much, it’s heartbreaking. This flag has united everybody, all over Australia, from all the Aboriginal nations," Thompson said at the time.
"The flag represented a struggle and a resistance movement, and now it just feels like a struggle to use it."
After ending his dealings with WAM in June, Franklin issued a statement via Instagram.
"It was never our intention to disrespect others in Aboriginal communities, and as a result of this issue, we will not be seeking to order or sell any further T-shirts or merchandise until the matter of our flag being made freely available is resolved for the good of our people, and our country," Franklin said.