Through a long lens: racism, protest, memory and sovereignty in Australian sport

ABSTRACT Protests against racism in Australian sport have a long history, with many notable actors, agents and incidents. Of these, the on-field protest against racial abuse in Australian rules football by an Aboriginal player, Nicky Winmar, produced Australia’s most famous image of race and sport. While the moment was captured in 1993, it has reverberated throughout the intervening three decades, and the image of Winmar lifting his jersey to point proudly to his chest retains powerful currency. The Winmar protest is both an Australian precursor to the Black Lives Matter movement and remains a potent touchstone in the current debates around the topic. And while Winmar’s stance remains a moral compass point towards racism-free sport, it also highlights continuing tensions around race, racism and memory. We explore these dimensions through a discussion of the intersection of the global Black Lives Matter movement with Australia, a revisiting of Winmar’s 1993 protest and its representations, reverberations and relevance, and an analysis of the meanings and issues surrounding the placement of a statue commemorating Winmar in Perth, Western Australia. These episodes occurred against the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter movement, revealing intersections with, and unique dimensions of, racial issues in Australian sport.