The AFL has apologised unreservedly for its failure to call out the racism that drove Adam Goodes into retirement in 2015.
The league admitted on Friday, shortly before the premiere of documentary The Final Quarter, that its inaction "let down all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players, past and present".
A statement attributed to the AFL and all 18 clubs - on behalf of members, administrators, staff and players - apologised for "our failures".
"Failure to call out racism and not standing up for one of our own," it said.
"Adam, who represents so much that is good and unique about our game, was subject to treatment that drove him from football. The game did not do enough to stand with him, and call it out.
Adam Goodes celebrates kicking a goal against the North Melbourne. Source: AAP
"Through Adam's story, we see the personal and institutional experience of racism. We see that Australia's history of dispossession and disempowerment of First Nation's people has left its mark.
"Racism, on and off the field, continues to have a traumatic and damaging impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players and communities.
"We are unified on this, and never want to see the mistakes of the past repeated."
Ian Darling's film, made entirely from archive footage, revisits the final three seasons of Goodes' 372-game career.
Sydney Swans supporters Wendy Twaddell (left) and Bruce Crabb hold a banner for Adam Goodes. Source: AAP
The movie includes part of AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan's belated public response to widespread booing of the 2014 Australian of the Year.
In 2015, McLachlan refused to describe the jeers as racism.
On Friday, an apologetic McLachlan conceded he was wrong.
"I should have called it earlier and been clearer," the AFL boss said on 3AW.
Goodes' championing of issues outside football, such as Indigenous constitutional recognition, and celebration of Indigenous culture in the form of a war cry at the SCG is documented in the film.
Adam Goodes at the end of a game. Source: AAP
As is the fiercely negative response from some pundits, the boos and explanations proffered by those insisting it had nothing to do with race.
Reconciliation Australia chief executive Karen Mundine hopes the documentary is a catalyst for conversation and change that extends beyond AFL circles.
"Adam is such a strong and resilient person," Mundine told AAP, describing the film as upsetting, uncomfortable and important.
"I was always amazed during that period of time, how he managed to remain true to himself but continued to be vocal.
"I really want this film to be a new conversation starter. Not just a rehash ... what do we need to change or do differently.
"So we don't have another person driven out of game or somebody in a workplace feeling so isolated and put upon they leave an industry."
Swans supporter Mundine and Michael O'Loughlin, Goodes' close friend and former teammate, were among the first to see Darling's final cut.
"I really hope it starts positive conversations around race relations in this country," Mundine said, having been involved in reconciliation for more than 20 years.
"What racism looks like, what it feels like.
"I felt specifically for Adam. The film also felt representative of things that we as Aboriginal people experience on a regular basis ... that isolation, not being welcomed."
