Anthony Mundine Research Paper

Anthony Mundine Biography
Anthony Mundine is an Aboriginal Australian professional boxer and former rugby league player and he is currently the WBC Silver Super Welterweight Champion. Before his move to boxing he was the highest paid player in the NRL. He was born in May 21, 1975, he is 1.8m tall and is the son to Tony and Lyn Mundine.
Anthony, or better known as ‘The Man’ Mundine grew up in Redfern, Sydney, An Aboriginal community within Sydney, where Anthony’s father’s gym is situated. Anthony took some of his teammate’s home with him to visit Redfern, so that they could bear witness to the poor conditions in which Aboriginal people had to live. Despite its poor condition and well-publicized street violence, Anthony claims that Redfern is

the safest place for a “modern Aboriginal” to live, as it is the only suburb in Sydney in which they represent a majority of the population.
While Anthony was not particularly successful or engaged in school, he is proud of the fact that he obtained his Higher School Certificate. He does not relate his own experiences, however Anthony does try to elaborate upon his belief in the importance of education, which was instilled in him by his loving parents. Anthony surprisingly ranks education above sporting success as the most the important avenue for Aboriginal advancement, despite his career as a boxer and rugby league player. He believes Aboriginal people are underrepresented in all arenas. Anthony also tries to change the negative attitude towards the education that prevails in his Aboriginal community, and has made considerable efforts to change young people’s approach to schooling.
Anthony also helps display the importance of teaching Aboriginal culture and history in the school curriculum, and for it to be taught by Aboriginal teachers. Anthony claims that because of the inadequacy of the current system, he was forced to self-educate himself in Aboriginal history and politics using the internet.
Anthony’s father was a very successful professional Boxer, and it is said that this is where he got his profound sporting talent from. While his parents unfortunately became separated 1984, Tony remains a committed parent and central figure in Anthony’s life. Anthony describes his loving father as “the head of the family”, who “sets the standard for the kids to follow.” Tony instilled in Anthony his respect and love for education, as well as his strident opposition to any drug taking. Anthony is particularly proud of the fact the Tony’s great self-discipline continued beyond his boxing career, Anthony also extols his father’s immense humility and dedication to the Aboriginal community, for which he was rewarded an Order of Australia in 1986. Anthony expresses the fact that his father did not receive the sporting fame that believes that he deserved until later in life. Anthony used his autobiography as an exclusive opportunity to properly convey his love towards his father.
Anthony’s Role models played a huge role in supporting him through the physical and physiological torment that his sporting passion entails for example, Grandma Audrey was Anthony’s grandmother, who gave him the nickname “Choc”.

Poppa Mundine who was Anthony’s grandfather, who suffered from alcoholism. While Anthony, like his father, is personally dispised to drug use, he does not harshly judge his grandfather. Rather, he sees his grandfather’s problems with alcohol as a side-effect of having to deal with deaths in the family and racism. Eileen McGuinness who was Mundine’s second grandmother, who he describes as a member of the infamous ‘‘stolen generation’’. Another key role model for Anthony was Solomon Haumono, or ‘‘Solo’’ a childhood and lifelong friend of Anthony’s, whose father was also a professional boxer. Anthony describes Solo as a “soul brother”, “special pal”, as well as, and a “blood brother” which expresses just how close the two were. Anthony described Solo as an immensely “spiritual person” and claims he played a large role in converting him to Islam. Eventually Solo decided to resign from football to pursue his religious studies. Anthony was angered at the time, however he eventually began to respect Solo’s

decision.
Mundine explains how he had to educate himself in Australia’s colonization via the internet, and relates incidents of colonial interaction in his autobiography.

Mundine also describes his emotional response to that day, and claims that the yearly celebrations of European settlement on Australia Day fill him with a “terrible feeling of emptiness and loneliness that only we, the Aborigines, know”. Mundine also expresses his tremendous outrage at, the confiscation of Aboriginal children, without their parent’s consent, and he complains about Prime Minister John Howard’s denial to make a formal apology to the race for government policies. Mundine relates his own personal and harsh experiences of racism. The claims that his Aboriginality was not a frequent issue for him before the young age of nine. When racism did arise, Mundine frequently resorted to force to quickly defend himself. Mundine explains that, while he became more docile in later life, he found violence was a very effective way of silencing racist comments in his youth. When Anthony resigned from the Rugby League, he gave the racist culture surrounding the sport as one of his many reasons. This includes being hurtfully described as a “black c***” by Barry Ward, for which Barry was fined $10,000. Anthony also believes that the harsh criticism he has received for being outspoken and controversial is clearly due to his

Aboriginality.
Anthony uses some impressive statistics to support his statements involving the continuing social and economic gap between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. Anthony claims that this “vicious cycle of poverty” forces the aboriginal people of Australia to turn to a life of crime. He believes this vicious cycle is enhanced rather than prevented by police. Anthony relates “shameful stories” of inescapable mandatory sentencing, inappropriate use of force and many deaths in custody, mainly due to the immense racism in prisons. Anthony also recalls his traumatizing personal experiences with law enforcement agents, including having a gun pointed in his face, and being ruthlessly “dragged from my car and into a police paddy wagon on account of my skin colour.” Anthony also claims that another harsh reality of this cycle of poverty is a “growing drug culture”. Anthony rejects the use of illicit drugs as well as all alcohol, which he attributes this to his own father’s influence. Mundine experienced his own shock and confusion when a close friend offered him illicit drugs. Mundine also comments on the negative effects of alcohol on the Aboriginal race, which he claims has become the “mother’s milk” to many. Ultimately, he claims, responsibility for Aboriginal alcoholism really lies at the feet of the Europeans who not only introduced drugs into our culture, but also perpetuate and exploit Aboriginal drug and alcohol abuse for their own ends.
Mundine describes his own personal and unique attempts to change young people’s attitudes towards drugs and alcohol, and condemns the public figure who through their own actions promote and encourage drug abuse. Anthony also highlights the unprecedented success of Aboriginal people in this settler-colonial society, although it is not ideal. He also strives to counter the apparently common assumption that they are in fact a “lazy, good-for-nothing race. Anthony hopes that this own success will stand as an influential example of Aboriginal ability for Indigenous youth and the general indigenous community. Anthony continuously defends himself against the constant accusations of egoism on these grounds, saying that his many expressions of self-confidence are mostly designed to inspire Aboriginal youth. Anthony briefly relays the short history of Aboriginal political activism, focusing mainly on that which developed in Redfern in the 1970s. Anthony has proudly positioned himself as a part of this tradition, and celebrates the fact that this immense sporting success has allowed him to project a global statement.
Anthony criticizes some other Aboriginal sportspeople, particularly the ever famous Cathy Freeman, who is less inclined to use her sport as a political tool. Anthony claims that his move from the Rugby League was motivated not only by his desire to win a world championship, but also because he felt that an international sport will better enable him to better represent Aboriginal people. Anthony currently claims that political action with only be effective if all Aboriginal people form a unified and totally independent national movement. Anthony emphasizes the need for a “true brotherhood and sisterhood among Aborigines”, and for Aboriginal people to “stop thinking what the white man had taught him” and only then will the race be accepted.
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