Take a stand on racism or send a message against violence: what should happen to the Nicky Winmar statue?

Some say the WA government was right to remove the statue after the AFL great was convicted of assault.

But others say the sculpture had a bigger meaning

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When former Western Australia premier, Mark McGowan attended the unveiling of a statue of the ex-AFL player Neil Elvis “Nicky” Winmar https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jul/06/nicky-winmar-statue-unveiled-at-optus-stadium-in-perth">at Perth Stadium in July 2022, he said the Noongar man’s “powerful message” against racism “still resonates today”.

That statue, capturing the moment Winmar lifted his St Kilda jersey and pointed at his skin in response to racial abuse by spectators at a match in 1993, was swiftly removed last week, two days after he was https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/03/nicky-winmar-found-guilty-assault-victoria-ntwnfb">found guilty of domestic violence charges in a Victorian court.