With West Coast leaders Matt Priddis, Adam Simpson and CEO Trevor Nisbett strongly backing the Swans stand over Goodes, Pridham likened the Goodes booing scenario to "people running down the street smashing shop windows. If you duck in afterwards and take something out of that shop and say you're not a thief well then I've got bad news for you. You are a thief."

"If clubs are saying otherwise they've got their head in the sand. They're ducking the issue. Show some backbone for heaven's sake. This is not just an issue for indigenous players. It's an issue for all players."

"He's a champion of the game and this is a campaign of booing," he said. "Let's call it for what it is. It's racism. To stand up to it we need to correctly define it. If people think they can sit there and say it's something else then I'm telling you that's not how Adam takes it and it's not how I take it.

"We're talking about a great footballer, a great Australian. People should be saying how lucky are we to be watching this bloke play.If you're an international sporting viewer just imagine how Australia must look. We look like a hick place.



"This is a man who's won two Brownlows, premierships and been Australian of the Year. It's extraordinary that on two notable occasions he's stood up to racist treatment and somehow that's his fault. He's had the courage to stand up and he gets booed for it."

The Swans have refrained in the past from protesting against the Goodes booing at the request from the player himself. "Out of respect to Adam who was hoping it would die down we might have chosen our words more carefully before," said Pridham. "But it would be irresponsible of us not to speak up now and say enough is enough."