In response to the controversy over the Welcome to Country ceremonies, former Geelong player and proud Aboriginal man, Mathew Stokes, offered his perspective.
The issue has once again reared its head following the controversial welcome given by Brendan Kerin to the players prior to the match between Brisbane and GWS.
Other prominent individuals, such as Tony Shaw, have called for the scrapping of the practice.
The Welcome to Country ceremonies are typically held prior to major sporting events. They are not welcoming individuals to Australia, as Kerin has maintained.
According to Stokes, either way, they have become divisive issues.
According to Stokes, the Welcome to Country ceremonies should be uplifting and respectful. Instead, they have become divisive and should be stopped.
He stated that he understands the people’s confusion about their purpose since the ceremonies are shown during the finals of the AFL.
Unfortunately, the confusion around the ceremonies has been used by some individuals to negatively affect the culture of the Aboriginal people.
Despite this, there are still enough voices within the white and Aboriginal communities that want to have a debate about the ceremonies.
If people are allowed to voice their opinions on the issue without being labeled as racist, then the debate about the Welcome to Country practices can be conducted.
For instance, former Essendon and Geelong player, Stoked, stated that he was not interested in the ceremonies during his time in the league.
According to Stokes, he felt uncomfortable at times during the ceremonies due to how every eye in the stadium turns toward an Aboriginal individual.
He believes that the tradition has been over-done and that people are more concerned with the football.
