The whole Black Lives Matter movement in Australia has prompted an enormous resurgence in interest in one of the first Australian athletes to take a stand on the international stage in support of black Americans.
I refer, of course, to Peter Norman, the great Australian runner who, after winning silver in the 200-metre final, famously supported the black American athletes giving the “Black Power” salute at the Mexico Olympics of 1968 – Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who had won the gold and bronze medals respectively.
When apprised in the dressing room before going out to the dais that they were going to raise their fists in the air in protest at the treatment of black Americans, Norman made an instant decision, and asked if there was anything he could do to show his support for their cause? Both the Americans were delighted, and John Carlos quickly secured a human rights badge for the Australian to wear –the same badge they were going to wear for the ceremony.
“My attitude was,” Norman told me two decades ago when I interviewed him in Melbourne, “they'd earned the right to do what they thought they had to do with their one square metre of Olympic dais, and I was glad they were doing it, and glad I was with them.” It was Norman who suggested that, given Carlos had left his gloves back at the village, they share Smith’s glove, which is why in the famous photo, Carlos has his gloved left fist in the air while Smith has right fist.
Immediately afterwards, when the world went crazy and the Americans were expelled from the village, there was a press conference, and Norman didn’t dodge any questions when challenged on Australia’s own racial policies.
“Smith is too good a bloke to blame me for whatever policy my government might have on coloured people,” he said. It was hardly a full-blooded defence of Australia's record in this regard, and nor did he mean it to be. For he went on to say that he supported Smith and Carlos “in spite of my country's White Australia Policy.
This powerful image from the 1968 Games is etched in Olympics folklore.Credit: John Shakespeare
He did, though, make it clear how he expected the folks back home to react. "I think most Australians would favour what I did. At least I hope they do. I believe in civil rights. Every man is born equal and should be treated as human. I thought this was a good chance to have a white man on their side.”
From a country that had only just given Aboriginal people the vote, Norman really was a man ahead of his time.
Given the interest this week, I can add two things to the story.
For despite Norman feeling he would have great support, as late as the 2000 Sydney Olympics there was little sign of it from the Australian Olympic Committee. As a matter of fact I was able to confirm this week that although he was still the Australian record-holder, the AOC didn't even invite him to watch the 200m final!
Never mind. When they heard that story on ABC Grandstand at the time, Sydneysiders Jo and Dave Hind realised they had a spare ticket, contacted the show’s host, Karen Tighe, who put them in touch with Norman and a short chat later he was not only coming to the race, but staying at their home!
US athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos, with Australia's Peter Norman, in their famous pose at the 1968 Games in Mexico. Credit: AP
As their son Rick was covering the Olympics for a Japanese newspaper he finished work just before midnight, raced back home and had a quiet drink and a chat with one of his heroes. The other interesting thing is that while Norman remained fundamentally unrecognised by the Australian athletes at those Olympics, the Americans knew exactly who he was, and loved him for it.
Reader Jeff Pulford happened to be working for the Victorian Minister for Sport, Justin Madden, which placed him in the Olympic Village with Norman and he reports “I remember him introducing us to some US star track athletes and they absolutely loved him. They obviously knew who he was. It is a memory that stuck with me – I can plainly remember four of these guys putting their fists in the air as Peter brought us across to the table as a way of saying hi to him.”
The other yarn is that when in 2005 California’s San Jose State University – the alma mater of Smith and Carlos – decided to do a statue of the famous moment, Norman insisted that his spot on the dais be left empty. Why? So that everyone who came to the park would get something of the feeling he had, and be able to stand in his spot, in quiet support of the two black Americans. Lovely, yes?
The whole thing bonded the trio for life, and when Norman died in 2006 at the age of 64, both Smith and Carlos gave heartfelt eulogies and were among his pall-bearers. Vale, Peter Norman, we remember you well.
Ain't sport grand
In much the same vein, that thing I wrote last week about how moving it was to see the players of Collingwood and Richmond “take a knee” in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, just before the ball was bounced in the first game back for the AFL? You might recall I also expressed the hope that the thing was genuinely player driven and not cooked up in some marketing department. Well, you’ll be pleased to hear that at 8.30 pm last Friday evening, about two minutes after the piece went online, Eddie McGuire texted me, noting with some feeling: “Just read your piece in the paper.
The ‘knee’ was from the player group and endorsed by the clubs and then the AFL. But it was player driven. All clubs wanted to do their own thing but have decided to wear black tee shirts in the warm-up and then take the knee. As it turned out record TV ratings saw our young athletes make a dignified statement and then played football.” Bravo
AFL's Jordan-style series should be a ripper
That now-iconic documentary on the life and times of Michael Jordan, The Last Dance? Having now watched the 10th and last episode, I am again reminded of that great line by Robert Graves: “The remarkable thing about Shakespeare is that he is really very good – in spite of all the people who say he is very good.”
Ditto the doco. It is absolutely stunning, as fly-on-the-wall cameras show the viewer the good, the bad, the ugly, and the absolutely extraordinary as we follow Jordan’s career leading up to the climax of the singularly dramatic 1998 NBA championship and his exit from the game. It goes with the other similar sporting docos at the moment, The Test, Formula 1 and Sunderland Till I Die.
What about a similar doco for Australia, where cameras could get that kind of access? Well, funny I should say that. For, as it happens, since the beginning of the year six separate camera crews from Amazon have been following six individuals from six of the most in-form AFL clubs on the reckoning that one of them will make it all the way through to the winner’s dais on grand final day.
And the nominees are . . . Carlton's Eddie Betts, West Coast's Nic Naitanui, the Giants' Stephen Coniglio, Adelaide's Rory Sloane, Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew and Richmond's American-born president Peggy O'Neal.
Camera crews are following GWS Giants' star Stephen Coniglio for an Amazon series.Credit: AAP
The production company behind the whole affair is owned by who else but Eddie Everywhere, and I am reliably informed that some of the footage they have obtained is nothing short of flabbergasting.
In sum, we will see up close what actually goes into a successful football team when the veneer of smooth professionalism is stripped away.
What they said
Justin Langer on telling Australian batting coach Graeme Hick he was being let go: “Having to tell Graeme Hick yesterday morning was like facing Ambrose and Walsh without a helmet and a box on.”
Mahindananda Aluthgamage, who was Sri Lankan sports minister in 2011, says the 2011 World Cup cricket final was fixed: “I tell you today that we sold the 2011 World Cup finals. Even when I was sports minister I believed this. In 2011, we were to win, but we sold the match. I feel I can talk about it now. I am not connecting players, but some sections were involved.”
Broncos coach Anthony Seibold shows the Broncos are going as well as the state of their nicknames while talking about Anthony Milford and Brodie Croft: “They are conceding so many six-agains out of yardage, so Milly and Crofty it is hard for them to come into the game when we are on the back foot.”
Wayne Bennett with a Michael Clarke nomination: “It’s just a part of Wayne Bennett’s life. Every time there is a problem at a club I seem to be going to it. I had about five before I left the Broncos.”
Adam Goodes: “Unfortunately the media here in Australia, when it comes to Indigenous people ... [we] haven't always been spoken about positively. When there's an opportunity to get the boot in, they do that. For me it was just another opportunity for the media to do, unfortunately, some bad reporting on the incident and bad reporting on what actually happened.”
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley after a low score draw to reboot the season: “Maybe our expectations should be suitably adjusted. The footy will get better as the year progresses. You feel like you are a little bit dumber after watching a game like that don't you?”
Cody Walker with one of his own after his return from suspension: “I've let a lot of people down through this period. Not only my teammates, members, fans, my family. It was good just to get back out there with a smile on my face, run the footy, be upbeat and be Cody Walker.”
NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, after her Finance Minister Grant Robertson, a former Highlanders supporter, playfully warned her on Twitter that things might get a bit awkward at the next Cabinet meeting after she was spotted wearing a Chiefs jersey in public: “I think you’re forgetting who chairs the meeting #LeaveTheScarfAtHome.”
Former Wallaby selector Michael O’Connor on the failures of the 2019 World Cup campaign under Michael Cheika: “I’ve never ever seen as much dropped ball from a national team. That was disturbing. If you’re going to drop it training, you’re going to drop it in a game - and it [happened]. Situations where you’ve got Sekope Kepu trying to tip on balls in midfield like he’s Mark Ella, front-rowers playing like centres when they should be hitting the ball up . . . you train the way you play.”
“Mr XXXX” – as he was referred to in court documents – after winning his case against Sportsbet on the grounds the brutes allowed him to continue betting with him despite being in the self-exclusion database. “I just wanted to make them accountable because this had a very, very bad impact on me and my family. I did gamble for some significant period of time. I lost a hugely significant amount of money and that has had a financial impact and on my mental health. I [had] depression for three years. I can't explain how bad it was.” He was repaid $93,082.04 by the rapacious brutes. You heard me.
Buddy Franklin: “People are allowed to say what they want, that's the industry we're in. I'm just focusing on getting myself in really good condition, ticking all the boxes I need to tick to make sure that I get back and I've got no doubt that I can get back to my best.” If only box-ticking could become an international sport, Australia would win gold every time.
Team of the week
Ellie Carpenter. The Matilda superstar has just signed with French club Olympique Lyonnais. Bravo.
Joseph Suaalii. The 16-year-old – raised in Penrith and good enough to play for the Kings First XV at the age of just 14 – has signed a multi-million dollar contract with the Rabbitohs, and will start playing for them from the moment he turns 18 in August 2022.
Noel ‘Ned’ Kelly. Rugby league legend passed away age 84. According to Roy Masters, he was sent off so often in his career that when the postman blew his whistle he’d get up and have a shower.
Parramatta Eels. Have begun the season with five wins.
Brisbane Broncos. They've been outscored 140-30 in the last four weeks of competition. Will do a victory lap in the next match if they win so much as the toss.
Kevin Roberts. The Cricket Australia CEO became another COVID casualty when he was sacked this week. I am not quite sure what he did wrong, but would note it is odd that most of us only came to know his name on the day he was sacked, despite running a major sport for 18 months.
Twitter: @Peter_Fitz