Sydney Swans great Adam Goodes has knocked back an offer to be inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame.
Goodes, a two-time Brownlow medallist, was a unanimous first-year selection for the honour with former players eligible after being retired for five years.
The two-time premiership Swan retired from the AFL at the end of 2015, with his final few years in the game marred by racially motivated booing and fan abuse.
A report by the Herald Sun claims Goodes' decision to turn down a hall of fame honour stems from the ugly ending to his 372-game playing career.
Back in 2013, Goodes, an Indigenous Australian, received backlash when he made headlines for calling out a teenage girl, who had called him an ape during a match at the MCG against Collingwood.
Just days after that incident, former Magpies president Eddie McGuire, who had already apologised to Goodes for the incident at the MCG, was forced to say sorry once again after he linked the Swans great to the promotion of 'King Kong' the musical.
He was then subjected to consistent booing by fans for the final two years of his career, which had partly been inflamed by some media commentary.
Since Goodes retired from the game, two documentaries have documented his final three years in the game, The Final Quarter and The Australian Dream.
The release of the two documentaries led the AFL and its 18 clubs in 2019 to come together and issues Goodes a formal apology, with a pledge to "never see the mistakes of the past repeated".
In 2015 the former Swan didn't take part in the AFL's farewell of retiring players during the lap of honour on grand final day.
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from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/afl/swans-great-adam-goodes-rejects-afl-hall-of-fame-honour/4698d617-c28e-4d34-8148-3e3fd85dbc90
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