- By Tiffanie Turnbull
- BBC News, Sydney
Image source, Wayne Ludbey/Getty Images
Nicky Winmar’s protest in 1993 (left) and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s similar stand 30 years on.
On a sunny afternoon in Melbourne 30 years ago, Aussie Rules footballer Nicky Winmar defiantly stared down a bitter crowd hurling racist slurs, spit and drink cans at him.
Lifting his shirt, the Aboriginal man pointed at his skin and shouted at them: “I’m black, and I’m proud to be black.”
That Saturday afternoon at Victoria Park would go down in Australian sporting history. Many hoped it would change the Australian Football League (AFL), which had been turning a blind eye to rampant racism.
But fast forward three decades and the league has again found itself at the centre of a racism storm.
In a full circle moment last month, Aboriginal player Jamarra Ugle-Hagan recreated Mr Winmar’s iconic…