Adam Goodes

Adam Roy Goodes (born 8 January 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). Goodes holds an elite place in VFL/AFL history as a dual Brownlow Medallist, dual premiership player, four-time All-Australian, member of the Indigenous Team of the Century and representative of Australia in the International Rules Series. In addition, he has held the record for the most VFL/AFL games played by an Indigenous player, surpassing Andrew McLeod's record of 340 during the 2014 AFL season before having his own record surpassed by Shaun Burgoyne during the 2019 AFL season.

Known for his community work and anti-racism advocacy, Goodes was named the Australian of the Year in 2014. From 2013, his outspokenness on racial issues contributed to his being the target of a sustained booing campaign from opposition fans, causing him to take indefinite leave from the AFL and eventually retire from the game at the end of the 2015 season. The "booing saga" sparked a national debate about racism in Australia and became the subject of two documentary films, both released in 2019. That year, the AFL formally apologised to Goodes for not taking greater action to defend him against fan abuse.

Goodes was born in Wallaroo, South Australia, to Lisa May and Graham Goodes, with siblings Jake and Brett. Goodes' father is of English, Irish and Scottish ancestry; his mother is an Aboriginal Australian (Adnyamathanha and Narungga), and is one of the Stolen Generation.

Goodes' parents were separated when he was four; his father moved to Mackay, Queensland, while Goodes moved between Wallaroo and Adelaide and Merbein with his mother.

Goodes preferred soccer as a boy, playing in South Australia. While at Merbein, he attended primary school at Merbein West Primary School in 1986, and it was there that he began to play Australian rules football as there was no soccer club for him to join. He moved with his family to Horsham, Victoria, where he played football at high school and represented at under-16 and under-18 levels. At age 16, he began playing with the North Ballarat Rebels in the TAC Cup. Goodes played in a winning premiership side with the Rebels, where he was scouted by the Sydney Swans.

Goodes took his mother to the Brownlow Medal ceremony in 2003 in which he shared the medal with Nathan Buckley of the Collingwood Football Club and Mark Ricciuto of the Adelaide Football Club.

Brett, who is four years younger than Adam, played 22 AFL games for the Western Bulldogs between 2013 and 2015.

Goodes was drafted by Sydney into the Australian Football League as the 43rd pick in the 1997 AFL draft, Sydney's third round draft pick. He spent the 1998 season in the reserves competition, but broke into the first team the following year and went on to win the league's Rising Star Award.