AFL champion Wayne Carey has shocked controversial football identity Sam Newman by revealing the big change he made in his life to stop getting angry about things like Welcome to the Country.
Newman has been vocally opposed to the Indigenous ceremony held before major all-code football matches for years and called on fans to boo welcoming the country ahead of the 2023 AFL Grand Final.
And he did not hesitate to criticize Welcome to the Country on his podcast.Are you serious?‘ when former North Melbourne and Adelaide champion Carey appeared as a special guest.
The podcast started innocently enough, with the pair joking about their mutual dislike of players shaking hands and sharing jokes on the field before and after games.
“That may be old school, but I think if you’ve just lost a final or a big game that cost you the final, you shouldn’t joke with people after the game,” Carey said.
“You should probably let it hurt a little before you invite them to dinner.”
Without warning, that triggered another anti-Welcome to the Country rant from Newman.
AFL personality Sam Newman has been a long-time opponent of Welcome to Country.
Newman called on football fans to boo Uncle Colin Hunter ahead of 2023 AFL Grand Final
Carey spoke on Newman’s podcast about the big step she had taken to improve her life and her vision for things like Welcome to Country.
“If the AFL could stop racially harassing everyone at the start of games saying there’s them and there’s us, welcome to the field and you’re lucky to be here, aren’t we great and it’s great that you’re here? “But don’t get ahead of yourself. too much,” Newman fumed.
“If they could stop all that nonsense before the game where we could all play under one race of people, that would be great.” But that seems to be getting bigger and bigger.
‘Mind you, I have the feeling that people are starting to get tired of this nonsense that happens.
‘Because we are one people and we want to embrace everyone in the country, no matter where they are or what they look like.
‘The AFL should be ashamed of itself. They go on and on and on about it.’
AFL star Wayne Carey has been involved in several controversies throughout his career, including a 2002 affair with a teammate’s wife, which led to his departure from the North Melbourne Football Club.
Carey met a controversial end to his time with the North Melbourne Kangaroos and has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons many times since.
He has also faced legal problems, including assault charges and incidents involving drug possession, which have affected his public image.
But instead of joining Newman in getting angry about Welcome to the Country, Carey, who previously said she might have Indigenous heritage, surprised the host and her listeners with a revelation.
“I know you’re passionate about Sam and I’ve heard your comments about it,” Carey said.
‘I work with a lady quite a bit, and have for some time now.
‘People will be surprised by this, but I continually work on myself.
‘I speak to a lady called Tess, Tess Mallett is her name and she is a life coach. I’m not a psychologist, but I suppose there is psychology involved.
‘It’s about working on yourself. And you know what? Things like, for example, to you, “Welcome to the country” and other things.
‘For me, do I think it should be done for everything, everywhere and all the time? Probably not.
‘But does it bother me? No, it’s not like that.
“There’s really nothing in the world – and this is simply because I’ve worked on myself in this area – that makes me very angry.
‘Whether it’s an individual or something like Welcome to Country, whatever it is, I just allow people to have their own emotions about it.
“I don’t judge you for your opinion on the matter, but I don’t let things bother me.”
Newman was a controversial panel member on Channel Nine’s Footy Show before he was axed and moved to podcasts.
However, that did little to put out the fire for Newman, who continued to rant about the Indian ceremony.
“It bothers me to no end, man, I’m telling you,” Newman responded.
—Because it is artificial virtuosity. There is no need to apologize for being here and for being who we are. We want to get along well together.
“For me, what happens is that every time it happens, it just shows you that we are divided and I don’t know why we continue to do it. But I absolutely accept what you have said.
A measured Carey went on to say that it wasn’t worth wasting energy getting angry over things you can’t control, like Welcome to Country.
“It’s about working on yourself…not worrying about things you have no control over,” he said.
‘Clearly, Sam, you have no control over the AFL or anyone else who wants to do Welcome to Country.
“Whether it’s Virgin Airlines, Qantas, the AFL or rugby or wherever, you have no control over it, so don’t let the emotion spill over into you about it.”
Carey is trying to get better and doesn’t want to get upset about things she can’t control.
“I’d just contend, Wayne,” Newman interrupted.
‘That I have a little control over it. Maybe if enough people say this is unnecessary, we respect everyone who is here, could you please stop bullying us about why we are here and why we should be here and we should be here?
“I think if enough people now say, please, this is not anti-racism, I think this is anti-racism on the other side.”
“We just don’t need to be bullied about the country we live in. We live here, can we all just get along?”
Carey urged Newman to stop allowing other people’s actions to impact him so emotionally.
“What we are, and this is one of the things Tess talks about, is that we are very critical people,” Carey said.
‘We were educated to judge. Whether it’s how someone walks into a room, whether they’re shy, how they’re dressed, how they look, how they act, we judge them in a second.
‘Someone walks past you on Beaconsfield Parade and smiles at you, you walk past and are happy for the next hour because they smiled at you.
‘If they don’t smile at you, then you’re depressed.
‘We allow people to make us feel that way and yet we judge in milliseconds and that determines our mood or how we should feel about ourselves.
“Those are some of the things I’ve been working on for quite a while, so I don’t walk into a room anymore, Sam, and I guess you’ve been that way for a long time, but I don’t care what people think anymore.” …I’m getting better at not caring about anything.’
