When the former Western Australia premier Mark McGowan attended the unveiling of a statue of the ex-AFL player Neil Elvis “Nicky” Winmar at Perth Stadium in July 2022, he said the Noongar man’s “powerful message” against racism “still resonates today”.
That statue, capturing the moment Winmar lifted his St Kilda jersey and pointed at his skin in response to racial abuse by spectators at a 1993 match, was swiftly removed last week, two days after he was found guilty of domestic violence charges in a Victorian court.
