Every time Adam Goodes has walked onto a football field over the past few months, he has been booed by sections of the crowd. The booing has nothing to do with how well or how poorly he conducts himself on the field during the game. It starts from the first time he approaches the ball and continues every time he gets it, often building as other fans join in.
In its best light, this unrelenting campaign, aimed at destroying one player's ability to do their job, is bullying. Those who boo Goodes should be ashamed to participate in it for this reason alone. However, there is a strong argument that it is worse than that.
Some justify the abuse of Goodes because of the way he plays his football these days. As his immense physical gifts decay with age, he's become more of a wily craftsman on the field. Opposing fans argue that he snipes at other players behind play, stages for free kicks and gets an unfair run from umpires.
These people don't like being called racists when they boo Adam Goodes. They'll point to past actions on the field and say they don't boo him because he's Aboriginal but because the way he plays the game is not they way they believe players should conduct themselves.
Yet there are other players considered 'dirty' by opposition fans. Joel Selwood wins more free kicks than any other player in the game. Ryan Crowley and Hayden Ballyntine have made a career out of niggling opposition players and fans. All have been booed at times, but none of them are booed on a weekly basis, from the start of the game to the finish, like Adam Goodes.
There are others who boo Adam Goodes because of the way he acts off the field. They see someone who's been gifted with a career and honours most would dream of having. Rather than just expressing gratitude for those gifts, Goodes uses the public platforms he's been given to call out ugliness where he sees and experiences it. He's not afraid to use the word 'racism', and to challenge how Aboriginal people are seen and treated.
These people don't like being called racists when they boo Adam Goodes either. They point to what he's said about racism in Australia and argue that they don't boo him because he's an Aboriginal. They boo him because they disagree with his view of Australia, and because the way he acts in public life is not the way they believe people should conduct themselves.
Those who boo Goodes because he's outspoken on Aboriginal issues will dislike him whether he's a dirty or clean player. They don't care that Goodes has been subjected to racial vilification on and off the football field, and may even be angry at him for pointing out a fan who abused him. They boo him because they want him to know that speaking out about racial issues won't be tolerated. They might believe they are championing free speech, but they are in fact undermining it by attempting to bully someone they disagree with into silence.
These people might argue that they aren't racists, but what they're doing is aimed solely at keeping an Aboriginal person silent about the discrimination and marginalisation he and others of his race have suffered.
What is the difference between people who boo Goodes because they disagree with his statements on Aboriginality, and those who lined the streets of Selma to abuse Martin Luther King and his companions on their marches? What they are doing is designed to further marginalise and alienate Aboriginal voices brave enough to speak out against the status quo. If we are a society that is tolerant and serious about being a welcoming place to people of all races and creeds, the actions of those booing Goodes need to be called out for what they are - racism.
When Adam Goodes made the spear-throwing gesture (replicated by Lewis Jetta over the weekend), he called out those booing him for what they were - racists. This offended those doing the booing. Here he was again - making everything about his Aboriginality. But the difference in how the public responds to Goodes and how it responds to other players is obvious to Goodes, even if it's not apparent to many of those who are booing him.
When Adam Goodes and Lewis Jetta made it clear how the boos were impacting on them (and all Aboriginal players), those doing the booing had two choices. They could respect their feelings and cut out the abuse, or they could double-down and continue unrepentantly. Sadly, it seems, many have taken the latter option.
Those wanting to marginalise Goodes and his calling out of Aboriginal discrimination will feel encouraged by fans booing him each week. They'll feel free to continue to express themselves, hoping to bully into silence anyone who might dare to give voice to the anxieties and concerns of marginalised Aboriginal people in Australia.
Others who choose to still boo Goodes might continue to think they're only doing so for footballing reasons. Seen in the best light, these people are bullies. But worse than that, the booing encourages and perpetuates a form of racism. Either way, the people who do it should be ashamed of themselves. It is not how we would expect people to conduct themselves, on the field or in public life.
Michael McVeigh is the editor of Australian Catholics magazine and senior editor at Jesuit Communications.
Adam Goodes image from Wikimedia Commons.