Mundine strikes again. (1 Viewer)

[Lizakith]

AUSTRALIA'S most divisive Aboriginal athlete thinks that this country's most beloved Aboriginal athlete has surrendered the ability to speak her mind.

Calling her a "sellout", boxer Anthony Mundine said Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter Cathy Freeman cannot be an authentic indigenous leader so long as she's heavily involved in corporate Australia.
"Aboriginal people don't buy that," Mundine said, referencing a leader coming from the mainstream. "That's what happened to Cathy Freeman. She sold out, toeing the line. And that ain't me. I'm not a fake."

Mundine also said repeated times that men, not women, are more qualified to lead. "As far as being a leader, that's not her anyway," he said. "A man can only lead."

Where Mundine has always been raw, Freeman has always been refined.

While Freeman has spent her post-retirement career rubbing elbows with other celebs and speaking about a possible film career, Mundine has decided that acceptance by the mainstream corresponds with a loss of credibility. Not necessarily by choice, he has no endorsement deals.

"If you want to toe the line," Mundine said, "if you want to be some corporate guy and say the right things, do the right things, you might be OK in the media's eye, but it wouldn't be real for me.

"I think Cathy has done a lot for the Aboriginal people, don't get me wrong. But they (mainstream sponsors) control and determine the things she says. I'm not putting anything on her, but at the end of the day, it's got to be a man. She's a leader, but for women," Mundine said.

"I'm not knocking Cathy. She inspired me as an athlete. She's inspired me.

"She is probably the pinnacle Olympian, and we all respect that. But Cathy can't say - 'I don't like this prime minister' or 'I don't like this issue'.

"I want to represent my people properly, and represent the street.

"I'm going on my own crusade ... and that's why I become the villain."

Freeman first emerged as an Aboriginal leader at the 1994 Commonwealth Games, when she waved the Aboriginal flag during a post-race victory lap.

She was criticised at the time, even by the Commonwealth Games head Arthur Tunstall, but she has helped raise awareness of Aboriginal issues.

And who will ever forget that night in September, 2000, her gold medal at the Sydney Olympics, when she became an Australian sporting legend and a national treasure.

Well done man, almost as talented as licking your contacts. Mouth breather.

 

[withoutaface]

Cathy Freeman's a cunt. Seriously, why the fuck did she get to light the flame when there were tonnes of athletes who had ACTUALLY WON GOLD MEDALS who could do so?

Spoiler

A: Because she's a boonger.

 

[Iron]

Yeah I could never stand Freeman on a personal level

 

[Lizakith]

I could never stand either of them, to be honest.

Agree. Mundine won't get over the chip on his shoulder.

and thanks ash

 

[sam04u]

He made a pretty important point. She can't use her fame and the publicity she gets to speak her mind. She is controlled by the corporations/sponsors that she has. Cathy Freeman can't be spokesperson for Aboriginals without ruining her "image", which she has shown is more important to her than anything else.

She really is a sell-out, she can't speak for Aboriginals, she can't speak for women, she can't even speak for herself. She can only speak for corporations whilst maintaining her image.

I don't know if what Mundine said was supposed to be mysogynist or not, but she has effectively given her opinion to her sponsors, who are probably headed by males.

 

[chicky_pie]

Why do people fall for his shit? He's only saying it because HE HAS A BOXING MATCH COMING UP!! He does it all the time, cheap stunts for the media to frenzy on, like this is coming from a aboriginal who had a fake rap short career rapping in a fake american accent and such and doesn't really represent aborigines, just the ones that sniff petrol that idolises him.

 

[Lizakith]

He made a pretty important point. She can't use her fame and the publicity she gets to speak her mind. She is controlled by the corporations/sponsors that she has. Cathy Freeman can't be spokesperson for Aboriginals without ruining her "image", which she has shown is more important to her than anything else.

She really is a sell-out, she can't speak for Aboriginals, she can't speak for women, she can't even speak for herself. She can only speak for corporations whilst maintaining her image.

I don't know if what Mundine said was supposed to be mysogynist or not, but she has effectively given her opinion to her sponsors, who are probably headed by males.

Shouldn't that be her decision though? If she wants to be an ambassador/spokesperson for Aboriginals I'd say she probably could do it and get away with it. But she wants to play it safe and not draw attention to her background.

Why hasn't anyone made the same attack against that Tatiana Gregoriava woman? She's from a minority culture in Australia and she's not out there championing their cause.

 

[sam04u]

Shouldn't that be her decision though? If she wants to be an ambassador/spokesperson for Aboriginals I'd say she probably could do it and get away with it. But she wants to play it safe and not draw attention to her background.

You're right. It's her decision, and he criticised her for it. There aren't alot of good role models for Aboriginal people in this country, especially not alot of good women role models. She decided to play it safe to appease her sponsors, which is in effect "Selling out".

If you actually read the rest of what he said he praised her, and rightly so. I haven't seen the full transcript though, but I know the media is good at taking things out of context, so I'll reserve my judgement on the mysogynism charge.