Adam Goodes lifts lid on 2013 racism incident involving teenage girl

AFL star Adam Goodes made a frank admission about his decision to have the teenage girl who racially abused him evicted from a game.

AFL legend Adam Goodes has opened up about the controversy surrounding his decision to call out a racist remark made by a 13-year-old football fan, insisting he wouldn’t change a thing if he had the chance to go back in time.

“Some people go, ‘Would you go back and stop that moment where you pointed out to the [13] year-old girl who racially vilified you?’” the former Sydney Swans player revealed on the latest episode of ABC’s The Assembly, in which high-profile figures are interviewed by a university classroom of autistic journalists-in-training with no questions off-limits.

“If I did that, and that didn’t happen, then where I am today is completely different.”

He spoke openly about the incident on The Assembly. Picture: ABC

The football star was standing near the sidelines during the final minutes of his team’s match against Collingwood in 2013 when he heard the young girl yell “Goodes, you’re an ape.”

Goodes notified security about the abuse, prompting them to remove the teenager from the stadium, and subsequently putting the issue of racism in sport back in the spotlight.

The athlete went on to become a high-profile advocate for Indigenous rights and later won Australian of the Year, but faced criticism from some opponents as he continued his anti-racism campaigning.

The then-Swans player alerted security to the teenage girl after she made the remark. Picture: Andrew White/AFL Media

Goodes raised the incident when asked by one Assembly student, Andrew, whether there was anything he’d like to change from his past.

“What I did that night was I stood up against racism in that moment,” Goodes said of his pivotal decision.

“Then a year later I was announced Australian of the Year … and what happened during that process was the producer … who was filming me for the three months for the profile piece, we became quite [close] friends. To the point where she’s birthed three of my children and she’s my wife. “

While he was adamant he wouldn’t do anything differently, Goodes added that he’d love to give his former self some advice.

“I’d put my hand on my shoulder and say, ‘Everything will turn out all right’,” he told the students.

“I’m very grateful for the decisions I’ve made, good and bad, because they’ve made me who I am.”

The Assembly airs 8.30pm Tuesdays on ABC TV and can be streamed on ABC iview.

Originally published as Adam Goodes lifts lid on 2013 racism incident involving teenage girl