When Mark McGowan, the former Premier of Western Australia, attended the statue unveiling of Neil Elvis “Violence against women is never acceptable and it is important we send a strong message to the community.” Winmar at Perth Stadium in July 2022, he remarked on the Noongar man’s impactful message against racism that “no longer appropriate for that statue to be displayed” This statue, which immortalized the moment Winmar lifted his St Kilda jersey to highlight racial abuse during a 1993 match, was removed last week, just two days after his conviction for domestic violence in a Victorian court.
Although the condemnation of Winmar’s actions was widespread, the decision to take down the statue ignited a significant discussion. Winmar is not the only AFL Hall of Fame member to have a history of violence.
Some Indigenous leaders argue that the statue represented a pivotal moment transcending Winmar himself, suggesting the WA government should have engaged in broader consultations prior to its abrupt decision. Conversely, others assert that violence against women must be denounced without hesitation.
‘No longer appropriate’
The 60-year-old Winmar, who played 251 AFL games between 1987 and 1999, was found guilty this month at the Bendigo Magistrates Court of two counts of common assault and one count of unlawful assault. He was acquitted of a fourth charge regarding intentionally causing injury. A pre-sentencing hearing is scheduled for August.
The charges pertained to an incident involving a woman he was dating, whom he assaulted in Cohuna, a small farming town in northern Victoria, in May 2025. The woman, who remains anonymous, testified that Winmar became unexpectedly aggressive, twisting her arm and dragging her by the hair. She recounted how he pushed her against a wall, yelling and spitting at her, and violently bashing her head against a wooden door.
In the wake of the guilty verdict, the fallout has been swift. WA Premier Roger Cook promptly ordered the statue’s removal, stating, “until a decision is made on its future”
The WA government released a statement declaring that the statue is “I need to make it clear that I do not condone any form of violence,” noting it would be stored by VenuesWest until a decision regarding its future is made.
The AFL confirmed they are reviewing Winmar’s Hall of Fame membership, to which he was inducted in 2022. However, the league did not address inquiries regarding the status of Wayne Carey, another Hall of Fame player who pleaded guilty to indecent assault in 1996 but faced no conviction.
Jill Gallagher, a Gunditjmara woman and CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO), who is also a survivor of domestic violence, expressed that the statue held deeper significance. She stated, “the Nicky Winmar statue is more than a statue of a footballer, it’s a statue against racism” but emphasized, “There should have been more consultation and more thought put into it,”
Gallagher further remarked, “What he [Winmar] did, all those years ago, by lifting up his shirt and pointing to his black skin … it raised and elevated Aboriginal voices, and it still does elevate our voices.”
Muriel Bamblett, director of Our Ways Strong Together, an Indigenous-led organization fighting against family violence, emphasized that while Winmar’s violence cannot be excused, a broader community conversation was warranted before the statue’s removal. She noted, “greater community conversation”
Conversely, Marcia Langton, a professor at Melbourne University and a Yiman and Bidjara woman, stated that it would have been “The sad thing is, we talk about racial violence as well,” if the statue had remained. “The thing what Nicky stood up for was the level of racial violence that he was experiencing. I think, not being able to visually see that, or understand how important that lifting of the jumper was at that time is disappointing.” Langton asserted. “highly offensive to women, to AFL fans and the wider AFL community”
Why this statue?
When Winmar boldly raised his guernsey at Melbourne’s Victoria Park in 1993, it compelled the AFL to implement its first official code of conduct and sparked a national dialogue on racism in Australian sports.
AFL historian Matthew Klugman, co-author of Winmar’s biography, criticized the statue’s removal as a lost chance for “His achievements as a young player will not be forgotten,” and accused the WA government of inconsistency regarding the removal of statues of controversial figures. He drew parallels to the apology made to the Noongar people by WA Governor Chris Dawson for the 1834 Pinjarra massacre, during which up to 80 men, women, and children lost their lives, yet figures like Governor James Stirling, who led the massacre, remain memorialized.
“His conviction for an assault against a woman requires that he is not celebrated in public in this way, so I agree with the removal of the statue. “We have a choice here [how we respond]. We have a choice right now at this moment. Should we celebrate a man that’s been convicted of a serious assault against a … woman? No, we should not.” Klugman questioned. “You’ve got to have some broad overarching approach to matter like this, and if the Winmar statue is coming down, why hasn’t Stirling’s statue come down immediately?”
Langton indicated that the decision to remove Winmar’s statue should be viewed separately from the ongoing discussions about dismantling statues of colonial figures involved in the massacre of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. She stated, “For this to happen to that statue so quickly, shows that there is no excuse for slow action around other statues. The question is, is that the best thing to do to statues?”
- Indigenous Australians
- AFL
- Western Australia
- Violence against women and girls
- Australian rules football
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