Don't miss any of the news involving the Swans as we bring you everything from the newspapers around the country on Wednesday 29th July, 2015.

Michael O’Loughlin was watching Sydney play West Coast when his seven-year-old son James turned to him with a question he could not easily answer: “Dad, why are they booing uncle?’’

It is the question all of football — and much of the nation — is now grappling with, as the AFL, Sydney and opposition clubs look for a way to stop crowd abuse of Adam Goodes.

The more O’Loughlin thinks about it, the more the retired Sydney Swans legend and AFL Hall of Fame star is angry at the unavoidable answer. “Some Australians want Aboriginal people to sit in a corner and be grateful for the things they have, which is absolute garbage,” O’Loughlin tells The Australian.

“What has he done? He has spoken about indigenous issues. He has stood up for his rights and his people’s rights. He has spoken about the Constitution of Australia and being recognised in our founding document. He has supported young indigenous kids going to school through the foundation that he and I run. He goes into bat for the little people. He talks about health, education and employment and how important they are for our people to make this country a great country.

“And people boo that? I am ­absolutely filthy and I have had enough. Let’s not kid ourselves. ­Racism is alive in Australia. People brush it off and say that is not ­racism, ‘I’m just booing’. Come off it. If you have been called an ape and a monkey and an Abo and a n**ger for all your life and you have had enough of it, there is a breaking point at some stage.

“How would you know if you have never been through it? ­People just don’t get it.”

After almost two years of relentless booing and slurs from rival fans, Adam Goodes has finally had enough.

The Sydney Swans forward is taking a couple of days off for the first time since the whole affair started the day he identified a 13-year-old Collingwood supporter who called him an ape.

He’s not sure if he’ll play in Saturday’s match against the Adelaide Crows at the SCG, as his mother, coach John Longmire, AFL officials, and teammates rally around him.

“It’s got to a point where it (the booing) isn’t going away and we need to stop it. Adam will have a couple of days away from the football club and take a breath about it,” Longmire said.

Geelong players will consider all shaking the hand of Adam Goodes on the ground at Simonds Stadium on Saturday week in a show of support for the embattled indigenous star.

It comes as Goodes’ best mate Michael O’Loughlin has called on Geelong fans to make a stand and not boo the Swans’ star.

O’Loughlin last night tweeted a photo of himself, and Goodes with the message “Dinner tonight with Uncle @adamroy37 ! Nothing will break us !!! #standingstrong

The Swans’ next game is at home against the Adelaide Crows on Saturday at the SCG but Goodes is no certainty of playing after being given two days leave of absence after another round of booing from opposition fans in Perth on Sunday.

“I’m calling on Geelong fans and all footy fans to stand up for number 37,” O’Loughlin said.

“They can show the football world and the rest of Australia they are not going to tolerate it.

“Geelong is an unbelievable club with great leaders with a lot of history. They have a huge opportunity to do something really good for the game. They have had some great indigenous players play for them and have them playing there now.”

A chorus of Aboriginal and political leaders have urged Indigenous AFL players to show solidarity with Adam Goodes on the football field, following sustained abuse against the Sydney Swans star and former Australian of the Year.

The head of the Prime Minister's Indigenous advisory council, Warren Mundine, says it is time for everyone to step up and address racism in the community head-on, as the sporting world grapples with football spectators' treatment of Goodes.

The Indigenous player has come under some criticism for his "war dance" on the football field, and has been routinely booed by opposition supporters during games.

"We just can't go on with this anymore," Mr Mundine said. "We're a maturing, growing nation and through this process of recognition... coming together as one community we can win this battle against racism."

Sad, this. Adam Goodes is a broken man because regardless of the motivation of AFL spectators booing him more than they'll drone their condemnation of the Prime Minister on grand final day, the victim believes the incessant derision is in direct response to the big thumping indigenous heart being displayed upon his sleeve.

How sad is that? Goodes believes he's being hounded because he’s Aboriginal. How sad could it possibly get? How sad was his stress-related absence from Swans training yesterday? How sad and uncomfortable are the questions arising from the prolonged vilification of an AFL superstar? How sad is the reflection on the footy fan? How sad is the mirror being held to the face of Australian society?

Yesterday afternoon, dozens of yellow footballs were sprinkled across the SCG when Lewis Jetta was the first bloke to emerge from the tunnel for training. He cut a solitary and dispirited figure, absent-mindedly applying a boot to the balls as though he was kicking inflatable stones. If Goodes isn't permanently broken — he's expected to return to training on Thursday and play against the Crows on Saturday — the cracks from the AFL's deepest and darkest issue have become too large and painful for the man himself to ignore.

Adam Goodes will advise the Swans later this week whether he is fit to play against Adelaide after being given two days' leave to deal with the toll of the incessant abuse he received during the game against West Coast.

On another dramatic day in what has become a shameful episode, representatives of the Swans, AFL and Players Association met to discuss the taunting of Goodes, which has been going on since last season and reached another crescendo during the game in Perth last Sunday.

Also on Tuesday, Sydney's general manager of football, Tom Harley, revealed that Geelong had contacted the club to discuss the matter ahead of their hosting the Swans next weekend. And, the Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Shayne Neumann, told Fairfax Media he believed the jeering of Goodes had exposed "sad and misplaced views in our society".

Goodes did not train on Tuesday and coach John Longmire said there was no pressure on the dual Brownlow medallist to indicate his availability for the round-18 match against the Crows at the SCG on Saturday.

"We'll just take that as we go," Longmire said. "We need to make sure we're fully supportive of him, wait a day or two and let things settle down and he'll decide that. There is no pressure on him at all.

"This is clearly an issue he's concerned about and is sick of and he needed a couple of days. What we do from there will be guided by Adam."

Adam Goodes’ best mate Michael O’Loughlin has been biting his tongue for almost two years as he has watched and listened to opposition fans across the country booing the dual Brownlow medallist.

O’Loughlin had remained quiet for all that time because he feared any comments on the issue would just inflame anti-Goodes sentiment and increase the booing.

But a conversation with his seven-year-old son James during Sunday’s match between West Coast and Sydney changed all that.

Now he won’t be taking his children to any interstate games to watch their godfather in action until the booing stops.

“When my seven-year-old son asked me why the crowd are booing Uncle (Goodes), that’s when it really hit home for me,” Swans great O’Loughlin said yesterday.

“James said, ‘Has Adam done something wrong?’ and I said, ‘No, mate’. We used to go to away games, but why would I take my son now? “

HERE is an idea. How about all those people who don’t like the way Adam Goodes plays stop booing him.

Because, as of this weekend, if you boo him, you are certain to be tarred with the same brush as the racists.

And if you still want to boo him anyway, maybe it’s time to have a good think about your dislike of Goodes and admit some of it crosses racist lines.

But if you aren’t one of those who believes he is an “uppity” indigenous figure, have a look at these free-kick numbers. They may just confound those who want to boo Goodes, and use the perception he plays for free kicks as an excuse to do it.

This season Goodes — serious ducker, serial free-kick milker, seriously annoying player to many rival fans — has won only 11 free kicks.

That figure from Champion Data puts him 168th on the list of AFL players, well behind Joel Selwood (44), Anthony Miles (41), Trent Cotchin (39), Marc Murphy (39), Allen Christensen (37) and Todd Goldstein (33).

Of Goodes’ 11 frees, not one was for head-high contact.

…

Neale Daniher is rightfully a national hero for highlighting the plight of those suffering motor neurone disease.

The Riewoldt cousins could not have shown more grace or passion in pushing for funding for Maddie Riewoldt’s rare bone marrow condition.

Goodes isn’t a nice, easy package to understand as he confronts white Australia with his message about indigenous issues.

The fear is that when Goodes highlights endemic racism or indigenous life expectancy, infant mortality rates and deaths in custody, many recoil rather than praise him for raising the issues.

And then we fall back on the free-kick argument when the bloke next to us at the footy asks us why we are booing Goodes.

It’s convenient, but it isn’t right.

With the playing future of Adam Goodes uncertain late on Tuesday and with Sydney concerned for their player's welfare, the game's stakeholders were holding urgent talks to address some short-term solutions to what threatens to become a crisis for the game.

The Swans have confirmed Goodes might not play in the club's round-18 clash against Adelaide – and is considering his future – after the still-shattered player met earlier with his coach John Longmire.

Geelong and St Kilda have both undertaken to deliver strong messages to their fans before and during their forthcoming clashes with Sydney. Both games will be played in Victoria, where Goodes has been booed by opposition fans all season.

Fairfax Media understands Cats coach Chris Scott and captain Joel Selwood will take a strong public stand on Goodes' behalf before their round-19 clash at Simonds Stadium.

AFL players from all clubs are discussing ways to stop the booing of Sydney Swans great Adam Goodes in the remaining matches this season - should he play.

The continuing booing of Goodes was discussed at a meeting of player delegates for the AFL Players Association on Tuesday evening, when players were talking about the type of measures that might be taken to prevent the booing.

All parties at the meeting expressed their serious concerns about the behaviour directed towards Goodes.

The AFLPA said in a statement: "We believe that Adam has been vilified for calling out racism, for expressing his views on Aboriginal issues, and for celebrating and promoting his proud cultural background. This is not something for which Adam should be vilified – it is something for which he should be celebrated."

Sources said players were considering game-day measures or gestures that would discourage, or hopefully halt the booing in the course of the game.

Sydney Swans star Adam Goodes is considering immediate retirement from the AFL as the booing controversy threatens to run him out of the game.

Goodes has told a handful of teammates and those within his inner sanctum that he is weighing up the decision to end his career.

The issue isn't so much the pressure he's feeling after copping another torrent of abuse from a hostile away crowd, this time during the Swans' match against West Coast at Domain Stadium on Sunday; it is the negative influence the booing is starting to have on his teammates.

Teammate Lewis Jetta performed an indigenous war dance and threw an imaginary spear at a section of the West Coast crowd in support of the dual Brownlow medallist.