- Matthew Stokes won titles with Geelong
- The Cats star has criticised some of the pre-game performances
Geelong Indigenous premiership winner Matthew Stokes has criticised the Welcome to Country ceremonies for becoming too divisive and being hijacked by “people with agendas”.
The Cats great, who played 200 games, also expressed hope that Australians can “offer their opinion on Welcome to Country without being called racists”.
His comments came after last Saturday’s pre-final ceremony between GWS and Brisbane was criticised by angry fans who called it a “disgrace” after celebrant Brendan Kerin said the rituals were not “invented to cater to white people”.
Stokes also revealed that he had “no interest” in the Welcome to Country when it was performed before big games he played in because it made him feel “uncomfortable”.
“Welcoming to the country should be a beautiful and respectful ceremony that brings us together as we reflect on Australia’s extraordinary history, which stretches back long before white settlement,” he wrote in The age.
‘Instead, it’s becoming divisive and, to be honest, I can understand why many people are confused by its purpose, as AFL finals coverage broadcasts the ceremonies to millions of football fans.
‘I think the moment is, in some cases, being exploited by people who, speaking in front of over a million people watching on television, are using it to defend their own views rather than giving everyone present the opportunity to show respect for the deep history attached to the land on which the match is being played.’
The 39-year-old, who won flags with the Cats in 2007, 2009 and 2011, called for a “genuine debate” over the ceremonies but added: “That can only happen if people can offer their opinion on Welcome to Country without being labelled racist.”
Geelong’s Indigenous premiership winner Matthew Stokes (pictured) is fed up with the Welcome to Country message being used to push political agendas.
The Cats great also revealed that the welcomes he received before the biggest games he played in left him feeling ‘uncomfortable’.
Stokes later revealed his surprising reaction to the ceremonies when he was a player.
“As an Aboriginal man who loves and respects his culture and traditions, I was not interested in being welcomed into country before a grand final,” he said.
‘My concentration as a player was on what would happen when the ball bounced.
‘To be brutally honest, while it may be good for everyone outside the boundaries, when you’re part of the game and you’re an Aboriginal man, you can start to feel uncomfortable at that point.’
He also said the welcome “is being overblown, which dilutes its effect, particularly if the ceremony is used to push agendas.”
The pre-final ceremony for the GWS vs Brisbane in Sydney on Saturday night – which also saw Kerin claim that welcomes have been taking place since 250,000 years before Captain James Cook arrived in Australia – prompted outraged reactions from politician Pauline Hanson and football legend Tony Shaw.
Stokes’ comments came shortly after the highly controversial welcome by celebrant Brendan Kerin ahead of Saturday night’s GWS final vs Brisbane.
According to Stokes, the ceremonies are dividing and confusing Australians, and he also says they are becoming “over the top” (pictured, Uncle Colin Hunter performing the welcome at the AFL Awards last month).
Hanson called the rituals “one of the most racially divisive features of modern discourse in Australia” and later called on football fans to turn their backs on them before matches.
Shaw, who captained Collingwood at the 1990 ceremony, criticised the AFL for being “weak” and “politically correct” for not issuing a public rebuke over Kerin’s stance on the ceremony.
Channel Nine football commentator Tony Jones also added to the controversy, saying the AFL should start vetting what celebrants say before welcoming them to avoid future scandals.
“Whether you agree with Welcome to Country or not, I think there is a certain amount of respect shown by football fans. But there is a problem. There is a problem and the AFL needs to address it,” Jones said.
‘This is a celebration during Saturday night’s Welcome to Country… there was laughter, and I’ll tell you why: because these Welcomes are not, and should not be, personal agendas.
‘They shouldn’t be there for political statements per se and I’m not sure if the AFL vets the scripts, maybe they will from now on because those comments didn’t go down well with a number of people in the crowd.
